


What Divides Us

by aliceeeebeth



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Riverdale AU, brief bughead, brief varchie, bughead did not solve jasons murder, but this is a vughead fic, ignoring the characterisation of jugheads mom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2019-09-14 09:41:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 27,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16910565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliceeeebeth/pseuds/aliceeeebeth
Summary: Jughead supposed that it wasn’t just her arrival that had changed everything. It’s hard to go about your day when seemingly every week there’s a new classmate murdered, a new serial killer, a new drug floating around. But each of those were problems that could and were solved. People are a harder case to crack.Veronica Lodge, especially.***A Jeronica/Vughead fic - what if the Lodges arrived in Riverdale at the same time? What if they took down the Serpents? What if Veronica Lodge was a pawn in their game but ended up being deeper than she wanted to be?





	1. Nothing More Than A Pawn

He supposes that it was only when he saw her with Archie in the music room that he realises that she’s here to stay. She’s not playing some kind of game with his classmates. That she’s not just a pawn in her dads game of chess. That maybe, just maybe, she’s a real person.

Seeing her light up around him, seeing her laugh with her whole body – shoulders shaking, clutching at the gingers arm as if she would fall apart at that moment without him – as he presumably made one of his classic “dumb” Archie comments, seeing her stare at him when he was playing his guitar – her eyes wide and full of emotion (though what emotion it was he couldn’t quite place)… it made Jughead wonder how he’d missed this genuineness before.

Maybe, over the past few months, since she’d walked in like she owned the place just maybe, he wanted to miss this. Life was easier before she existed – it was just him. Then she ripped through Riverdale like a tornado, and everyone was expected to orientate themselves around this new normal.

Jughead supposed that it wasn’t just her arrival that had changed everything. It’s hard to go about your day when seemingly every week there’s a new classmate murdered, a new serial killer, a new drug floating around. But each of those were problems that could and were solved. People are a harder case to crack.

Veronica Lodge, especially.

***

Jughead supposed it was inevitable, really, the way that Archie and Betty abandoned him the same way his mom and sister abandoned him. He made a poor choice in the heat of the moment – blood over water, family over friends. He took one look at his father through the glass, at the bags under his eyes, the scar on his cheekbone, the bruise blossoming on his forehead, and he knew that he couldn’t let him down.

So, he joined the Serpents. He ignored as Betty pleaded with him, her blue eyes wide and glassy. He blocked out Archie’s concern, the hand on his shoulder heavy. This was his destiny – his dad had asked him to keep an eye on it, to take what was rightfully his – and he would never let his dad down. No matter who he disappointed in the process.

And that was 3 years ago. A young boy of 14, then, not really understanding what he was doing. Now, nearly a man, staring at a girl across the table as she let her boyfriend steal her fries, as she giggled over some trivial high school gossip with her best friend, daring her to show her a flash of what he’d seen in that music room, in that stolen moment.

Like he said. Life was easier before she came around.

***

He would go to Riverdale High and pretend like everything was normal. Between 8:25 am and 3:01 pm he was just that loner who kept himself to himself. During his free periods or lunch break he studied – even the guidance counsellors had learnt to just leave him be.

As soon as he felt the whir of his motorbike beneath him, his leather jacket on his shoulders – then all normal high school life was ignored. Joining the Serpents had been easy. Physical pain meant nothing, in the grand scheme of things. Learning to smoke and waste his nights away was like learning to breathe – instinctive. Natural.

There was a strong divide between his worlds. He was strict. If he knew someone from Riverdale High they were _not_ welcome in the Serpents. The Serpents wouldn’t even attempt to surface from their dive bar before 5pm, so he didn’t have to worry about that crossover.

And for 2 years it worked perfectly.

Until the Lodges rolled into town.

***

It started quietly, so silent that he almost couldn’t tell something was wrong. A change of bar staff here, a new construction site there. There was something in the air – something loaded and heavy. But Jughead just assumed it was because of Jason’s murder. He assumed it was because of Miss Grundy sinking her claws into teenage boys. Looking back, he doesn’t understand how he could be so stupid.

But then, after school one day, he spots a shiny black car outside the Whyte Wyrm. And he walks in and a man with a suit is sat on his stool, a briefcase full of cash open on the bar. Says it’s to encourage healthy business relationships, says he hopes his plans will be welcomed.

And that was that. They’d all been struggling to support themselves, their families. FP was up for parole soon and good lawyers were expensive. Jughead took one look at the Serpents faces and knew he couldn’t turn this down.

So, he didn’t. It was his own fault for not noticing the changes before they were too late, anyway.

***

He didn’t despise her, per se. After all, it was said that hate and love are basically the same thing, that the true opposite of love was indifference. He just liked to think that he saw straight through her. Hiram Lodge and Veronica Lodge were two sides of the same coin, as far as Jughead was concerned. Both were ruining his life, as well as the lives around him.

Every laugh was calculated. She only smiled when she had weighed up alternative options and seen the potential outcomes – was this person someone she could use? She held parties like they were opportunities for networking (Jughead was never included on the guest list), her lunch table was “by invitation only”, her fashion choices always like she was going into war.

Why could no one else see that? Why were all the boys and the girls fawning over her? Why was she the only one who could take Cheryl Blossom down a peg or two? Why did it have to be her that orchestrated the take-down of Chuck?

She was tearing Riverdale High apart and just because it seemed to be put back together, it was acceptable?

Not for Jughead.

***

The Serpents disbanded, unofficially, within 6 months. His dad never forgave him and started a fight in the prison yard. His parole application was suspended. The young members of the Serpents were suddenly picked up by the system and were shoved into new families, new homes (all on the Northside). Anyone who had narrowly escaped a prison sentence years ago was yanked back to serve time.

Soon, there was just Toni and Jughead. Except Toni had stumbled across Cheryl Blossoms path and was soon smitten. And that was that.

“I can’t be with you anymore, Jones.” She’d said, as if their arrangement required such a formal ending. As if they hadn’t been anything more than two bodies looking for a quick fuck. As if it hadn’t started as a drunken decision that they’d stayed with because it was easy. As if a Serpent King didn’t just need a Queen.

And then it was just Jughead. Hiram sent Hermione down, expecting Jughead to hand the keys over without a fight. As if this place that had welcomed him at 14, one parent in jail and the other long gone, deserved to go down this way.

So, he spat his rejection at her, eyes ablaze. As if daring the Lodge family to show him all they had. Because he was going to give as good as he got.

***

“Varchie” were discovered making out under the bleachers, but only an idiot would think that was accidental. Suddenly there was talk of prom king, of prom queen. If Veronica was on the stock market, that day would have sent her value through the roof.

And Jughead wasn’t an idiot when it came to the Lodge family. So, when Principal Weatherbee’s voice came through on the tannoy, asking to see Jughead Jones immediately, he knew who was behind this. He half expected to see Hiram Lodge himself sat behind the desk, but not this time.

There had been some concerns, Weatherbee said. They no longer thought it was best for him to be so isolated, Weatherbee said. The library would be closed for refurbishments for the foreseeable future, and they really hoped that Jughead would choose to spend some time socialising with his classmates, Weatherbee said.

But really, there was no “we hope”. Jughead had no option or choice in this. Beneath everything that was said, there was a layer of “we’ve let you do your own thing for years, but our arms are being twisted and we may have no choice but to get the authorities involved.” And Jughead had no desire to get put through the care system – especially not when he had a such little time to go until freedom.

So that’s how Jughead found himself in the canteen, hoping that this was enough socialising for the Lodges. Eyes over his shoulder, looking for a flash of that raven hair.

***

About a month after the scandal of “Varchie” (after all, everyone – even Jughead – knew how Betty held a flame for Archie, and Veronica was meant to be Betty’s best friend), Jughead was in the middle of writing a sentence when he became all too aware of someone standing beside him. He could have ignored them, but when you spend the first 14 years of your life spending every day with someone, you recognise them in your peripheral.

So, he looked up.

“Hey, Juggie.” The use of his old nickname made his heart twist painfully. “Can I sit?” Not that long-ago Betty could have got him to do anything she wanted by staring at him with her baby blues. Jughead supposes that not much has changed, as he gestures to the seat opposite him.

He doesn’t talk. She looks at him expectantly, as if he’s going to question why she’s here or what she wants. But he makes the executive decision to carry on writing. She abandoned him at his time of need, not the other way around.

“Jug, me and Archie have been talking. We miss you.” And then Jughead realises. This is yet another step in the Lodges “get Jughead Jones to give us the Whyte Wyrm” plan. He whips his head around quickly to find Veronica, only to find her seemingly deep in conversation with one of the Vixens. She’s smart, he’ll give her that. Anyone else and he would have caught her sneaking glances at the conversation.

Betty wrongfully assumes that he’s looking for Archie and continues “We did the wrong thing. We messed up. If you want to be a Serpent that’s your decision.”

“The Serpents are over, Betty. It’s a bit too late for your non-apology now.” Betty doesn’t react. Probably because she already knew about the downfall of the Southside (probably heard it from her new best friend, Jughead thinks bitterly). “It was inevitable, anyway.” A pause. “You and Archie were always just pitying me.”

Bettys eyes fill up with tears, as if she’s heartbroken to hear the truth. “Jug, I’m trying. Archie wants to try.” She places one hand over his as it’s paused over the keyboard. “Just think about it.”

***

2015, and Betty Cooper is sat on the ground in front of his trailer. He’d joke that it wasn’t a smart choice, but one look at her face and he knows this isn’t that kind of conversation.

He’d fallen for Betty Cooper in the way that every weirdo falls for the sweet, kind, girl-next-door type. He’d fallen for Betty Cooper quietly, slowly, tentatively. He’d fallen for Betty Cooper because he believed she’d be by his side always. He harboured no delusions; he saw the way she looked at Archie when the redhead wasn’t looking. He saw the smile on her lips when Archie hugged her goodbye every day, or when he offered to walk her home. Betty would at some point come clean to Archie about how she felt about him, and Archie would inevitably run scared, but would come back to her. They’d find each other, they’d fall for each other. They’d be together.

Jughead reminded himself of the inevitability of Barchie a lot, but he still dreamt of waking up to Betty by his side, dreamt that she was the angel that would save him from all of… this.

“Is it true?”

He doesn’t respond, his mind working fast to figure out what is happening. There’s only one way this confrontation is going, and it doesn’t work in his favour.

“Jug, have you joined the Serpents?” She hisses that last word, as if she isn’t currently in their territory. “Jug, you’ll die with them!”

He still doesn’t say anything, so she continues. There’s nothing he can say that will stop her from walking out of his life. Betty wasn’t the angel that would save him. Betty wasn’t even going to be his friend, when the chips started to fall.

“I can’t see you get hurt. Or hurting someone else. Not because you’ll do it on purpose, but because that’s their world. That’s just how they live! Isn’t it?”

She looks at him, expecting a response. What she doesn’t know is that he doesn’t care. He was never meant for the world she lives in – to be honest, he’s lucky that he’s even getting an education at this point. If all he achieves in this life is making someone proud of him, then everything else is unnecessary.

“Juggie…” She pauses. Recomposes himself. “Jug, I can’t support this. I can’t watch as you crumble and burn. I can’t let you drag me and Archie down with you. I can’t care about you when you come to school with bruises and cuts and I can’t –“ Her voice breaks. “I can’t.”

And then she leaves. Like he knew she would.

***

He’s sat in the lunch hall the very next day after Bettys non-apology and Archie approaches him. As if he thought that heavy bombardment was the answer to the problem of their ruined friendships.

“Can I sit, Jughead?”

He never quite understood how Archie could abandon him too. Betty telling him she couldn’t support him if he went down this path made sense. He knew she was too good for him to be in her life. She was a _good_ person. He just wasn’t deserving of that.

Archie, though. Archie just let it happen. Betty made her decision, and presumably Archie was given a choice. Jughead supposes it would have been awkward to walk past the Cooper household every day, but he still hoped that Archie would choose him.

He didn’t. And 3 years later, here they are. Awkwardly making conversation, as if they hadn’t grown up together. As if it all meant nothing.

They last all of lunch making small talk before there’s a lull. “You should’ve just talked to me. It would’ve gone a long way.”

Whatever Archie was going to say back is stolen by the bell.

***

Turned out Archie took what Jughead had said in passing to heart. And them sitting together became a regular occurrence. Them going to Pops (always Archie’s treat) became a regular occurrence.

Betty joined them sometimes. Always quiet, rarely making conversation, but she was there. And they talked about things, but never Veronica. Never the Lodges. Never the Serpents.

None of this made it okay, but when the world was chaos, it was reassuring to be just kids, to have the neon lights of Pops keeping the darkness at bay.

***

The morning that changed everything for Jughead was a Wednesday, and he was heading towards his locker. Usually he bumped into Archie coming out of the music room, but today the redhead was nowhere to be seen. Never one to pass on a mystery, no matter how small, Jughead paused, walked up to the glass pane in the door, and peered in, only to catch a stolen moment between two teenagers.

There was nothing overtly romantic about it. Veronica and Archie were not kissing. In fact, the only contact between them was Veronica clutching at Archie’s arm, giggles rippling through her body. As the laughter between them subsided, Archie began plucking at the strings on his guitar, but Jughead could not tear his eyes from Veronica.

When he was reading, he hated the dramatics of the moment the protagonist discovered something they had been hidden from. He hated it because he didn’t believe that real people would be like that. There’s no dramatic reveal in real life, no pieces to put together. People either know things or they’re completely ignorant. And if they know things, they are either purposely ignorant or they are honest with themselves. Jughead _hated_ those moments because they were so obviously fake. He felt this with his entire being.

Well, until that Wednesday morning, staring at Veronica Lodge. If you ask him about it, he’d never be able to explain succinctly how Veronica Lodge, daughter of his sworn enemy, went from being nothing more than a pawn in her fathers game to being the muse for every piece of work Jughead would write in the future.

Because it was on that Wednesday morning that suddenly Jughead understood. He understood it all.

And his life would never be the same again.


	2. Archie's Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week or so after what he's referring to in his mind as "The Music Room Incident" (though he knows it's laughable to call it that when neither Veronica nor Archie were even aware he was present), Jughead realised that if he wanted to figure out Veronica Lodge, he’d have to invite her in.

A week or so after what he's referring to in his mind as "The Music Room Incident" (though he knows it's laughable to call it that when neither Veronica nor Archie were even aware he was present), Jughead realised that if he wanted to figure out Veronica Lodge, he’d have to invite her in. He had not been able to get her off his mind, and any idiot would have been able to tell just by the amount of time he spent staring at the back of her head.

She’s Archie’s girl, though, so he doesn’t want to make it too obvious that he thinks he’s found a new muse. No matter what he’s writing, or what his intentions are, every paragraph makes its way back to the girl with the raven hair. He tells himself that it was a non-event, that it shouldn't and didn't have any lasting effect on him. But the words fly out of his fingers onto the blank document, and he's forced to delete his hour of musings. 

“Why don’t you invite Veronica?” He stares out the window as he says it, the definition of nonchalant. He purposely ignores any reaction that Betty might have had, assuming that Archie would have just been happy to get to spend time with his girlfriend. As awkward as it still is between them all, he knows the reason it's so stilted between them still is because of his obvious animosity towards someone who he hadn't even spoken to, but who has become seemingly important to his two childhood friends.

“I think she’s busy tonight, Jug. Maybe next time?” Bettys voice is even and calm, as if she’s nervous to say the wrong thing. Which is fair enough, considering that everyone knows Hiram Lodge is behind the Serpents demise. But Jughead is an expert at separating Church and State, and for now, the way his stomach is flipping at the thought of seeing her outside of school is so far from the bubbling hatred he feels for the Lodge family.

***

He walks into the Whyte Wyrm to find it empty, as per usual. But he sets up his laptop there anyway, knowing that at some point the electricity is going to switch itself off but wanting to make the most of it. Last time he checked, the land was Serpent property until there were no Serpents left. And as long as Jughead had breath in his lungs, there was a Serpent in the Southside. He refuses to open the can of worms that is his future, knowing that until he's  _fixed_ what the Lodge's  _broke_ , his future is here. In the Whyte Wyrm. 

Alone.

He'd be able to contemplate his long term goals if he could at least have published author under his belt. But he wasn't even working his way towards that - his novel wasn’t really working out the way that he thought. He imagined a linear plot, starting with the murder of Jason Blossom and ending with the suicide of the dead students father. He knew all the steps along the way, who discovered what, the side plot of Jason & Polly and their children. He knew Betty had been involved heavily (and he knows that at some point he's going to have to ask her about it all), and he knew that the Blossom family definitely had more secrets to hide (but Cheryl Blossom barely acknowledges his existence, and he'd like to keep it that way). But now that he had started to see Veronica as a human, it was difficult to not place her in every scene - or at least a character that bore striking resemblance. 

And he hated himself for it.

Right as he was about to start ripping his hair out, his phone buzzed. A text from Archie.

**Pops? – A**

*******

He and Archie arrived at the exact same time, and Jughead marveled at how normal everything was almost starting to seem between them. If Jughead knew one thing about Archie, it was that he never meant to be malicious – he was just always desperately trying to keep everyone happy, and Betty could be very persuasive. It was Betty that would take some time to forgive, and he wasn't even sure if that would be the best thing for him (or for her - after all, she'd made the decision that Jughead shouldn't be in her life).

They joked about some insignificant thing that had happened at school today as Archie pushed the door open. The bell alerted everyone to their presence, but Jughead only cared about one person in particular.

Having never spoken words to this member of the Lodge family, he probably should’ve trodden lightly. But when it comes to matters of the heart, that was easier said than done, and “But only if you’re treating” was out of his mouth before his brain could follow up.

His stomach was awash with butterflies as he caught her laughing at his joke, and then she politely introduced herself. Like he didn’t know who she was. But he played the game, and they pretended like their families weren’t at war.

And it was easy - almost like it was always meant to be this way: Betty and Archie, him and Veronica. Really, it should have felt like him and Betty, Veronica and Archie. But the way her dark eyes flashed with every sarcastic comment, the way she parred with him, her knee lightly pressing against his – you couldn’t blame him for thinking that Veronica was here for him and not for her boyfriend.

***

Betty yawned first, her early morning starts catching up with her. Immediately Archie offered to drive her home, and Jughead couldn't help but sneak a glance at Veronica to see how she reacted. Surely it was against boyfriend rules to drive another girl home?

“I’d like to avoid going home as long as possible, so I’m going to enjoy the ambience of Pops for a bit longer.” was her only response, her smile seemingly genuine. Betty and Archie said their goodbyes, and Veronica got out her phone and started typing.

“Something going on with your dad?” Jughead couldn’t help himself. They’d avoided all topics beyond school and the Northside for hours, and the words were on the tip of his tongue and out of his mouth before he knew it.

For a split second, he hoped that Veronica would let it slide, that she'd take it as a friendly question about her life, rather than a fish for information. Jughead isn't sure how he intended it, but he knows he couldn't spend a second more without referencing the life outside their teenage dramas. But that hope was dashed when suddenly her knee was no longer touching his, and the flash in her eyes wasn’t mirth, it was pure ice. But just as quickly as it appeared, the cold stare was gone, replaced by one of her patented Lodge smiles.

“I’m not going to ask about your father, so you shouldn’t ask about mine. Keep to that and we’ll get along just fine, Forsythe.” The smile on her face was complete juxtaposition from the words that she spat out.

In response to the name on his birth certificate being used, his blood boiled & he found himself suddenly riled up. “I guess we’re not pretending that we don’t know who each other are anymore.” He hissed back at her. “I say we should talk about our fathers. Mainly how yours is the reason mine isn’t getting out any time soon.”

“Is that so? Last I heard it’s because he pulled a shiv on his cellmate.” She opened her mouth again to say something else, probably something that anyone else would find devastating but would do no more than make Jughead's heart beat triple time and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on edge (his fight or flight instinct), but she seemed to think better of it, pointedly shutting her mouth (Jughead pretended he wasn't transfixed by the movement of her lips). After a pause, Veronica slid her phone into her pocket and stood up. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jughead. I’ll find a way to waste some time in the car – this just isn’t worth it.” 

And then she was gone. For his first interaction with the Devils Daughter, he supposed it didn’t go so badly. Usually it takes more than a spat out comment to get a reaction out of him, and he found himself staring at the space that she had occupied for longer than was strictly necessary, heart still beating double time and finding himself fighting against getting awkwardly hard as a result of the adrenaline. 

_Isn’t worth it?_

***

“Can I sit?” Betty was working on something for the Blue & Gold and Archie was in rehearsals for his upcoming gig, so Jughead had been looking forward to 30 minutes of alone time. You would’ve thought that he would have got his fill, now that he spends an hour at the Wyrm alone each evening, but there was something glorious about being allowed to watch his peers, uninterrupted, as if they were zoo animals.

That goal, however, had been shattered at the arrival of a dark-haired cheerleader, tray in hand.

“Do you not have anyone better to bother?” He’d barely looked up from his food, still pissed about her sudden descent into hatred a few nights previous. She didn't owe him friendship, he knows that - he wouldn't even want it if it were on the table, that wasn't what this was. She didn't even owe him civility - he's sure she sees him as the enemy as much as he sees her that way. But something about the whole interaction had pissed him off, and Jughead was an expert at holding on to negative feelings.

“Maybe, but today I choose you.” Jughead chose not to respond, pointedly taking a bite of his lunch at that moment - even going so far as to lift a pinky as he does so. “Look, I don’t often fly off the handle with people I just met.” A pause. “Not anymore.”

A beat passes while he waits for her to continue, even though he doesn’t need to look up to know that she’s waiting for him to interrupt, to inquire what event happened to change her personality - he can only assume it's being ripped from her socialite friends in New York. He at least wants to finish his bite first, to throw her off whatever balanced pedestal she’s found herself upon. “Your point is?”

“My point is I’m sorry. You’re special to Betty and therefore, by some weird extension, you’re special to me.”

“And Archie?” She looked at him blankly, as if her boyfriends opinion of people hadn't even crossed her mind. “They were pretty much a package deal before you turned up. I’m guessing you’ve been talking to both of them about me. Part of the Lodges grand scheme to get the old gang back together.”

She breathes in through her nose sharply. “Jug, I’m trying. And whatever you think of me and my family-“ Oh, she doesn’t know the half of what he thinks about the Park Avenue Lodges. There are few words that accurately describe his opinion of them. “-I know you care about Betty and Archie. So, can we pretend to get along for their sake?”

He doesn’t want to concede the battle, but he really just wants to get back to his lunch and to make it through the rest of the day. So when he gestures to the empty seat opposite him (holding in a scoff when she chooses to sit by his side instead), it's not him waving a white flag and it's definitely not any form of surrender... it's self preservation. It's what Jughead Jones is an expert at.

***

Jughead hadn’t been to the drive-in since he’d joined the Serpents, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t mourning its loss. He knew _exactly_ whose father had made the offer that Mayor McCoy couldn’t refuse, and he wanted to see if she’d bite. The problem with inviting the beast into the folds is that the beast showed no intention of being on the outskirts again.

“As the godfather of indie-cinema, Quentin Tarantino, likes to say-“ He heard her snort at that and turned to face her. “Something funny, Veronica?”

Besides from muttering something her breath that almost sounded like “of course he’s a Tarantino fan”, she didn’t seem to want to play ball. “No, please continue.” Suddenly he was hit by the urge to lean across their table in the dining hall and kiss that smirk right off her painted lips, the impulse so strong he had to clench his fist and blink multiple times to stop himself from doing so. He's thankful that they don't know each other well enough for her to realise that his pause is out of character for him, and he's thankful that he's passionate enough about the topic to be able to compartmentalize the compulsion.  _Use it in your writing, Jones_ is what he tells himself.

It's enough. 

“The point is, the Twilight Drive-In should mean something to us. Just because some _vulture_ has swooped in and thrown money at Mayor McCoy doesn’t mean we should all accept the death of the American dream.”

She didn’t even blink.

“In this age of Netflix and VOD, do people really want to watch a movie in a car?” She’d placed one hand on the table and had turned her body completely to face him, and he suddenly didn’t understand why the Lodges didn’t get Veronica to do their dirty work – he could see weaker men than he falling for her body language faster than she could move her arm. After all, five seconds ago a smirk had been enough to almost break him. “I mean, who even goes there?”

“Cinephiles! People with taste!” Nobody else was around to listen to him, except Veronica, so he wasn’t even sure why he was arguing this. There was nobody less likely to understand his pain than the ex-socialite who had swung into town less than a year ago. But they kept going, every point he made met with a counterpoint (completely valid, as much as he hated to admit it, although totally wrong and missing the point).

The bell rang for next period, but Veronica and Jughead stayed staring at each other, as if they were both stuck in a battle that neither of them wanted to lose. After a minute she looked away. “Fine, Jughead. Prove me wrong. I’ll come to closing night.” He spluttered in response, having been actively trying to avoid spending time with her outside of school. “Make sure they play something with Audrey Hepburn in.”

And, just like the night at Pops, she was gone, leaving him to catch his breath.

***

“Are you trying to manage me right now, Veronica?” He snaps at her from where she sits opposite him.

“Define manage.” She quips back, eyes blazing.

“Look, you may have convinced everyone else in this room that your hands are clean, but I know for a fact that you’re a part of Lodge Industries as much as your parents are.” He isn’t even sure how they got onto this – maybe he’d had one too many cups of coffee this morning (thank god for the Chock'lit Shoppes early opening hours and Pop Tate's heart of gold), maybe she’d made one too many references to her life as a high school New York socialite.

All he knows is that when she tried to placate him, still wallowing about the closing of the Drive In, he lost any patience. It’s not even about Veronica at this point. If it was, he’d admit to himself that he _needs_ her to be involved with her parents dealings, for the sake of his sanity. It’s easy to pretend this whole situation is some scouting mission when he believes that.

“You are unbelievable, Forsythe.” Everyone around them winces at the use of the name on his birth certificate.

“And you’re only offended because I’m telling the truth.” He spies Betty and Archie walk in, sees them look at each other and realise this needs breaking up - so he does their job for them. “What’s even the point of you talking to me, anyway? We all know that in 6 months, when Daddy Lodge has dismantled everything about Riverdale and has ruined the lives of countless people, you’re going to pack up and leave, walk away from all of this. You’re going to look back on it and think what a fun social experiment it was. So you might as well just give up.”

That shuts her up.

Immediately he knows he’s gone too far, that he should apologise, that he should take it back. But he can’t. Instead, he just watches as her eyes fill with tears, and she runs to Betty.

The two girls depart, and Archie changes trajectory. Jughead finds himself alone.

Just how he likes it, right?

***

“What, no Archie?” He asks as soon as she arrives. He tries to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat at her arriving, looking around and making a beeline for him as soon as she spotted him. He wasn’t even sure that she would come. They haven’t spoken since their argument the other day. If he’s truthful, he’s been scared to try.

“No Betty?” She shoots back at him, and he doesn’t like what she’s insinuating. It must show on her face as she clarifies. “You two have always been close, and only an idiot wouldn’t see how you look at her. Either you’re in love with her, or you used to be.”

From their few extremely brief conversations, he wonders how she can see straight through him. Is he that obvious? Is he that predictable? Either way, he hates it.

“I couldn’t get them to play Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but they are playing Rebel Without A Cause. Thought you might relate – new kid in town, trying to escape the problems of their past?” It’s a well-educated guess, but it obviously hits close to home as her eyes snap up to stare at him. “Look, Veronica, I’m sorry. I went too far and I-“

“No Archie.” She sighs, interrupting him and admitting defeat. He assumes he accepts her apology. “I’m flying solo tonight, unless you care to join me?” The question was heavy, and he wondered what kind of game she was playing.

Would it help him or haunt him to play along?

***


	3. The New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's as if she knows that when the film is over, she’ll go back to her upper-class lifestyle and he’ll go back to sleeping in a trailer that hasn’t been up to Health & Safety codes in the best part of a decade. As if she knows that there’s a chance that this night is the only night that she might actually find anything about Jughead.
> 
> It’s terrifying how much he finds them on the exact same wavelength, but he has no reason to believe that her desire to know more about him is nothing more than curiosity, maybe with a hint of blackmail material to hand over to her father.

“I swear to god, Forsythe, shut up and let me enjoy this film or you’ll find out what happens to a snake when a Louboutin heel steps on it.” But she’s joking, shoulder pressed against his and a smile on her painted lips. A genuine one this time, not a patented Lodge smile.

 “Like you’re not enjoying my running commentary.” He fires back at her.

He has to keep reminding himself that as curious as he is about her, she’s still a Lodge. She’s still the reason his dad lashed out and ruined his chance at seeing his only son graduate. The demise of the only friend group he’s ever really had is a consequence of her existence in his life.

“I just hate when people disrespect my cinematic experience.” She sighs, readjusts herself so she’s no longer in his personal space.

Hearing anyone use the name that’s on his birth certificate is usually enough to make him hiss in response, the reminder of his link to not just his father but the Jones men before him, the unforgettable truth of the Jones men turning out to be failures.

As if she knew where his mind had gone, Veronica nudges him. “You know, you’re going to have to explain the name to me some day. I get that Forsythe doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but Jughead isn’t necessarily much better.”

“A story for another time, Veronica.” She looks at him, disbelieving. As if she knows that when the film is over, she’ll go back to her upper-class lifestyle and he’ll go back to sleeping in a trailer that hasn’t been up to Health & Safety codes in the best part of a decade. As if she knows that there’s a chance that this night is the only night that she might actually find anything about Jughead.

It’s terrifying how much he finds them on the exact same wavelength, but he has no reason to believe that her desire to know more about him is nothing more than curiosity, maybe with a hint of blackmail material to hand over to her father.

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Her hand is outstretched – a promise of ‘if I tell anyone your shit you have every right to tell everyone mine’. Without thinking, he shakes it, choosing to believe her wide eyes.

“It’s my dad’s name. And my sisters. And, in case you haven’t figured, I didn’t always want to be like my father. So, me and my sister came up for nicknames for each other and they just stuck.” He watches emotion flicker on her face – sympathy? Sadness? He can’t quite tell – until the silence hurts and he tears his eyes away. “The nicknames were created when we hid in the trunk of my mom’s car, because we couldn’t afford tickets to the drive-in for all of us.”

“How does your sister feel about the Drive-In closing?” She isn’t looking at him anymore, staring at the movie playing instead.

“Jellybean – JB as she’s affectionately known to me and my dad – she… doesn’t know. Her and my mom moved to Toledo a few years back and I don’t really talk to them anymore.” He returns her favour, eyes facing the scenes playing in front of them. “Your turn.”

“My dad gave me this necklace after he missed my 8th birthday. I treasured it – my first real piece of jewellery, my first precious thing that was all mine. I’ve worn it every day since, and…” She clenches her jaw. “Well, my mom decided to reveal to me recently that he won it in a poker game, and it wasn’t until he got home that he realised he’d messed up and decided to pretend it was meant for me.” She turns back to him again, her fingers now moving from stroking the pearls around her collar bone to hesitantly reaching up towards his beanie. His _crown._ “I guess we all have our safety blankets, no matter who they remind us of.”

He can feel his heart in his throat.

“For the record, Jug.” He’s staring at her again. Why can’t he stop _looking_ at her? He can practically feel the pull towards her, like she’s a source of gravity and he can’t do anything but let himself orbit her. “Archie and I are-“

He never finds out what she was going to say, a shrill ring interrupting their moment. She looks at her phone, chuckles without humour, and moves to stand up. “Saved by the bell, Fors- _Jones_. Duty calls.”

***

It becomes the new normal. He would go to Riverdale High and pretend like everything was fine. Between the start of school and lunch period, and between the end of lunch period and when he got on his motorbike, he was just that loner who kept himself to himself. During his free periods or lunch break, well, sparks flew.

Not a day went by without some all-important debate between himself and Veronica, whether it be about a book (she regularly called him a heathen for his views), or a film (because of course she was obsessed with Audrey Hepburn – could she be any more cliché? – and she liked to ridicule him for idolizing Quentin Tarantino), or even about the weather (he pointed out that the American dream is dead and our climate is going down with it, she pointed out that maybe he should stop riding his motorcycle if he cared so much). Archie and Betty just rolled their eyes and tries to keep the peace.

He spends a lot of his free time there, but the Whyte Wyrm didn’t feel like home anymore. It was empty and dark, but at least it was silent, giving him the opportunity to work on his writing.

Jughead had taken to just depositing his dreams on the keyboard. Without anyone around there was nobody to judge him or question him that all of them featured a certain raven-haired princess. The Devils Daughter, indeed.

***

“What are you doing tonight?” She’s leaning against his locker, looking like she belongs there. When he doesn’t answer, she grins – a smile with a promise. Like he’s going to enjoy whatever she has planned. “7pm, Pops. Don’t be late.”

And then she skips away. He instinctively turns around, scouting for any watchful eyes that might get the wrong impression. He’s a Serpent. She’s a Lodge. Not only a Lodge but a taken one. This is just a casual plan between what she thinks is friends.

He pretends (and if anyone asks, this is what he would tell them) that this is a ret-con mission, a way for him to find out secrets about the Lodge family, to earn her trust and then take them down. To save the Serpents and take back the Southside – to take back what is rightfully his. To re-gain his fathers respect, to get his future back.

Even he knows that his heart is running away from him.

***

“Tell me it’s not true, Jug.” If he’s honest, there’s a part of him that’s shocked his dad comes out to greet him. He half expected to be stuck staring at nothing through the window. But it turns out FP has a bone to pick with him. “Tell me you aren’t friends with Hiram Lodges daughter.”

His silence speaks more than he ever could. Jughead doesn’t even know how his father would have found out, and he doesn’t think his questions would be welcomed at this moment. He can only assume that the Devil works hard, but Cheryl Blossom works harder.

“Are you out of your mind?!” FP speaks through gritted teeth, his knuckles white around the phone. As if it’s taking all his strength not to shatter the glass between them. “You know what they did to us. The apple _never_ falls far from the tree, and if you think that she’s different, if she wouldn’t throw you under the bus the second that she gets the chance, well, then you must be a bigger idiot than I thought.”

“You don’t think I know all that? You don’t think I’m doing this for us?” Something about FP brings out the worst in him. “But you don’t get to judge what I’m doing to save the Serpents because you threw it all away. And you’re not even sorry.”

It spirals from there, the two Jones’ men throwing words at each other like they don’t know any better. Like they aren’t going to regret the bile they’re spewing, the venom lacing through every syllable. Like they’re guaranteed a tomorrow, a happy ending at some point.

“We done?” FP isn’t just referring to this argument, the bitterness between them that seems to never fade. Jughead slams the phone down, turns to leave, but a thudding on the glass makes him look back. And he doesn’t have to read lips to understand that he’s being dismissed for good.

_“Never come back here.”_

***

It isn’t that he forgot about Veronica. It isn’t that he wasn’t tempted to forget what was happening around them, to ignore his brain, his gut, his everything. It’s that demolishing everything in the Whyte Wyrm seemed more tempting – once he got started.

The Serpents were done. He might as well call Hiram now, get it all over and done with. He could pack up what he had left, take whatever money they would offer him and get out of here. Maybe JB would welcome him with open arms. Maybe that would be enough so that this time his mom could tolerate him.

He’d tried this before, the turning to his blood family when he was in a bad place. He begged them to let him sleep on the couch, in their garage, anywhere. It had ended with him crying in a phonebooth, everything he owned crammed into the rucksack dropped on the urine-soaked floor. It had ended with him walking into the Wyrm and proving that he would die for the Serpents. That his life was now the Serpents.

Maybe if he had enough money the Jones women could be persuaded. Maybe with enough money he would stop being a constant reminder of FP.

But, no matter how awful things looked, he couldn’t bring himself to dial the number on the business card, the one that had been left for him by Hermione. Too weak to save the Serpents, too pathetic to turn to the dark side. The tears came again.

Which is where Veronica found him, shattered glass bottles around him, splinters in his hands, tear stains down his cheeks and blood streaming from a cut on his forehead.

“Jughead, what the _fuck?_ ”

..........


	4. 3 Minutes and 34 Seconds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He can pretend to Betty that he despises Veronica, and everything she stands for. He can pretend to his dad that her presence in his life is nothing more than part of a plan to save the Serpents. He can pretend to Archie that he doesn’t understand why he’d want her around.
> 
> What he can’t do is pretend to himself. Not anymore.

He realises his feelings for her are too strong to fight about 3 minutes and 34 seconds later. When she’s pulled him up from the floor, found a chair that wasn’t broken and shoved him into it. When she pulls a chair up next to him and takes his hand in hers. When he opens his mouth to try and get her to leave, to tell her she doesn’t have to be here, and she shoots him a look that says “shut the fuck up.”

She’s meticulously checking for pieces of glass in his palms, for splinters from the now ruined furniture. When she’s satisfied his hands are safe, she roots in her bag for a tissue and, after running it under his eyes to dry them, she starts work on his forehead, one hand still in his. He barely even feels the sting.

He assumes he must look slightly more presentable now, as she stops, looks around to scout her surroundings, before choosing a spot on the floor and stares at it. It’s a move that says “I’m here for you. You don’t have to talk. But I’m going to stay until I know you’re alright.”

And all resolve crumbles. He can pretend to Betty that he despises Veronica, and everything she stands for. He can pretend to his dad that her presence in his life is nothing more than part of a plan to save the Serpents. He can pretend to Archie that he doesn’t understand why he’d want her around.

What he can’t do is pretend to himself. Not anymore. Against all odds, against every moral he’s ever thought he had, he’s fallen for Veronica Lodge. And, with her thumb stroking against his, with the chaos and destruction around them, some part of him knows that she’s not there for anything other than friendship. How could she be?

So he clears his throat and speaks. “I went to see my dad.” Her eyes don’t move from the spot on the floor, and he appreciates that. Sharing his family woes is easier when he can pretend he’s talking to himself. “He wasn’t happy with some of the choices I’ve made, recently. And he made it very clear that even if he did get out of prison anytime soon, I would not be welcome in his life.”

“Some of the choices being… me?” Her thumb has stilled, and the energy in the room becomes tense.

Instead of answering her question, he decides to ask one of his own. “What was the plan for tonight, anyway?” She doesn’t respond, so, acting on instinct, his hand moves from her lap to cup her cheek, turning her face towards his. He tries to pretend he doesn’t notice how her breath hitches when he touches her, but at least it snaps her out of whatever self-pity she had found herself in.

She smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Another time, Jones.”

“No Forsythe this time?”

“I don’t know much about him, but if FP the second is refusing to be part of your life, he doesn’t deserve to be your namesake.” In the blink of an eye she’s standing up, phone out of her bag and she’s typing. “I’ve got some contacts who can sort this out. We might not be able to repair all the furniture, but they might be able to find some replacements.”

“Wh- why? I thought your dad-“

“He doesn’t need to know.” He’s staring at her, realising that Veronica Lodge is always going to zig when he thinks she’ll zag.

And it’s endearing as fuck.

***

In the end, Veronica sorts everything. He returns to the Whyte Wyrm 24 hours later and it’s almost like his meltdown hadn’t happened. Except there’s a letter propped up on the bar, and, after feeling Veronicas absence all day, Jughead barely manages to avoid tripping over his own feet in his haste to rip it open.

_Jones, if you ever find yourself in a situation like that again, you’ll know where to find me. – V x_

And then underneath, a number. It’s so quintessentially Veronica Lodge, to write him a note rather than just get his number from Betty or programme it on his phone herself. He finds himself tracing the kiss with a fingertip before he realises what he’s doing.

He doesn’t know how to _exist_ in himself now he’s admitted to himself how he feels. It’s a fools errand to try and dismantle the layers of them, he knows that for sure. Veronica is… _Veronica._ First and foremost, she’s taken. She’s not only taken, her boyfriend is Archie Andrews – star of the football team, teen heartthrob, _his best friend._ As much as he queried the validity of Varchie when they were discovered, he has to accept that they’re as real as anyone in a relationship in this town.

Plus, even if she didn’t have a beau, Jughead wouldn’t be her first choice. Jughead was never _anyone’s_ first choice. His dad chose prison over being a father, his mother chose Jellybean over him, Betty and Archie dropped him the first time they had a real excuse, and even Toni threw him away when she had the chance to run off into the sunset with Cheryl. He doesn’t resent them for any of that (how could he?), it’s more that he sees it as proof that the problem lies with him. If born-and-bred Riverdale civilians wouldn’t bother with him, why would Veronica, when she has already proven that she sees this town as beneath her?

There’s only one thing for it. He rips up the letter into tiny pieces, telling himself that by throwing it in the trash he’s ending the way that she near constantly runs through his mind.

(But not before saving her number).

***

“Jughead, could you please excuse us for one sec?” He allows himself to look up at her enough to see the wad of cash she’s waving in his face. He’s successfully managed to avoid her for a few days, turning the other way in the hall when he sees her raven hair, sneaking off campus for lunch period, taking advantage of Pop Tates kind heart and hiding in the kitchen when she comes in. But today he’d been ambushed, so engrossed with his conversation with Archie that he barely acknowledged the bell ringing.

The problem is that when he allows himself to look up at her hand, he can’t help the slow journey that his eyes take up to her face. She’s smiling at him, and he can’t read it. He can’t read _her_ today, and he can feel his gut churn already.

“Burger’s on me.” The wad of cash waves in his face and he remembers that they’re in Pops, that her boyfriend (his best friend) is sat directly opposite him.

“She knows what she’s doing.” He takes the cash and lays on the snark too thick, trying to ease the tension that’s probably all in his own head. Jughead doesn’t care to know what’s so important that it couldn’t wait, what’s so secret that it couldn’t be said in front of him, he just wants to get back to his food so that he can leave and go back to trying desperately to ignore her presence.

“Jones, wait.”

He barely makes it to the bar before she catches up with him.

“Are you okay?” He can’t help but focus on her hand on his arm, the way she looks up at him. This gaze he can read – it’s concern. She cares enough about him to be concerned about his wellbeing, and his stomach quietens, his heart feels lighter. It’s almost pathetic.

“Thank you.” He chokes out. It’s not really enough for what she did for him, not enough to explain how much it means to him – she was under zero obligation to help (and he still has no idea why she did), and yet she did it with zero drama and zero fuss.

“It was nothing, Torombolo.” She’s looking up at him through her lashes now, and he barely registers the nickname, her teeth biting down on her bottom lip has such a strong affect on him. “We never did get to go to Pops.”

“We’re in Pops, Veronica.”

Her exasperated sigh doesn’t help anything, especially when she’s still looking at him like that. “I mean just us two. How about tomorrow?” He nods, and her face breaks out into a smile. “It’s a date!”

She practically skips back to Archie, but Jughead has to focus on just getting one foot in front of the other.

***

And so begins the next stage of the Veronica/Jughead friendship.

Because that’s what it is.

Friendship.

Platonic friendship.

When Archie isn’t available to drive Veronica to school, she’s found waiting for Jughead at the entrance, black coffee to hand. He calls her an angel every time he sees that to go cup (and tries to ignore the faint blush on her cheeks as he does so, the tiny smile that plays on her lips) and swears her coffee beans must be blessed by the gods. They bicker briefly about something that had happened the day before (sometimes Jughead swears she disagrees with him just to annoy him), then go their separate ways. At lunch they’re joined by Betty and Archie, who just let them get on with it.

“Cheerleading is a sport, just like any other, Jones.” Todays argument is based on him making a comment on Cheryl’s hierarchy over the cheerleaders and how it’s kind of ridiculous to have a head cheerleader. The reality is that he saw Veronica in the uniform and he thoughts about her legs were anything but appropriate to share in the cafeteria. He had to think about anything _other_ than the legs in question being wrapped around his head and both of his hands inching up that skirt just to avoid an embarrassing moment.

“Sure, that’s why it only exists prior to football matches. Jesus, Veronica, could you be any more predictable?” Neither of them “win” any of the arguments, they just get distracted by the next one.

The bell rings, and they head back to class. Sometimes she sees her walking out of school, arm in arm with Archie, but sometimes he gets the pleasure of walking to his locker to find her waiting there. What usually follows is three glorious words that make him think that he must have been a decent person in a past life: “Pops? My treat.” (It’s always her treat. Which makes sense, considering she has access to a credit card and he just has to hope nobody notices he still lives in the trailer).

It’s these moments at Pops where the sparks truly fly. There’s rarely anyone around to pass judgement on them, and if he were honest with himself he would be able to admit that he flirts with her, and sometimes, she flirts back.

It doesn’t _mean_ anything. Flirting is just something that teenagers do.

Sometimes they spend a couple of hours complaining about the drains on society that they go to school with. Sometimes she lets him rant about the death of the American Dream, or he lets her passionately talk about her New York life and how awful it was to be surrounded by such vapid people. Sometimes they sit in silence, sipping on milkshakes as he works on his writing and she catches up on her social media.

No matter what, he never wants her to leave but she always has to go. So he walks her out, and they stand there staring at each other. Every time he wonders what would happen if he kissed her, and every time it’s like someone has punched him in the gut.

It’s a random evening in October, however, where she surprises him.

“Can we go back to yours?” She’d been somewhat distant all evening, constantly looking over her shoulder and barely arguing back. Archie had been off school that day and nobody had known why, although Betty supposed he was sick as she hadn’t heard him playing guitar the night before. He hadn’t found her at his locker that day, and he found himself missing her. But they ended up at Pops later that evening, regardless.

He (obviously) agreed, and she was striding towards his motorbike before the words were out of his mouth. Hands on her hips, she took one last look around them and gestured to him to get on, impatiently. As soon as he complied, she hiked up her skirt and straddled the machine (his mind would go straight to the gutter, if he wasn’t concerned for her wellbeing), and they were off.

Jughead presumed they were in a hurry to get inside, so he grabbed her hand without thinking and charged in the direction of the front door. Once they were inside, he locked the door and turned to face her.

“I think you should sit down.”

***

“I have been turning this in my mind over and over for weeks, Jug.” Veronica paces back and forth around the trailer, not caring that she’s stepping over dirty clothes, empty food containers and half-filled notebooks to do so. “If I tell you, I’m putting you in danger – well, in more danger than you already are. If I don’t tell you, then everything we’ve had so far has been a lie.”

“Wait – danger?”

She pauses, blinks at him as if he’s asked a stupid question. “You’re the last remaining Serpent, Jughead. My father has been waiting for months to get his hands on the Whyte Wyrm, and it’s only because there have been some… political disputes that he’s waited this long. The next step is surely to set his henchmen on you, and I don’t know how long that will take.”

“I know all this.” And he did. He might trust Veronica but that didn’t mean he’d forgotten about the Lodge family. Hiram Lodge was powerful but predictable. He kept his cards close to his chest but that doesn’t mean that someone wasn’t able to peek over his shoulder. “What do you mean, more danger?”

“Daddy hates you, but he adores Archie. If he found out –“ She stops, her jaw set in a hard line. And so, Jughead stands up, walks over to her, and wraps both arms around her. He tries to tell her (without saying any words) that she doesn’t have to tell him. That’s she’s important to him as she is, and if she doesn’t want to betray anyone she doesn’t have to. In reality, his mind is racing, wondering why she’s brought up Archie and what he might have to do with any of this.

He tears his mind away from the what-ifs and tries to focus on the moment. Her breathing slows, her heartbeat less erratic, so he pulls away slightly, looks down at her big brown eyes.

“Archie and I aren’t real, Jug.” She whispers, almost as if she’s hoping he won’t hear her. But he does, and he pulls away some more. “We never were."

..........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genuinely, thank you for the comments and the kudos and just reading this. It's probably, weirdly, the thing that I'm most proud of in terms of my creative outputs. 
> 
> I thought I'd start giving shout outs to the fanvids I was watching while writing this - the inspiration behind the fic to begin with. Let's start with the first video I ever watched about Jeronica: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akqi5WXmwg0
> 
> Next chapter will be next week!


	5. You Already Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the confession was out, the words don’t seem to stop. Jughead, on the other hand, can barely think of what to say.

“When I moved here, I thought things were going to be different. Daddy promised a fresh start, that the trial had changed him, made him re-evaluate things.” Now that the confession was out, the words don’t seem to stop. Jughead, on the other hand, can barely think of what to say. “And stupidly, I believed him.”

There’s a complete role-reversal from when she found him at the Whyte Wyrm, and it’s that thought that inspires him to guide her to the beaten-up sofa, to sit down next to her, to take one of her hands in his. She smiles gratefully.

“Until a few weeks later when I found out he’d promised me to the highest bidder. I had to fight off “offers” from every eligible son of his crew – they offered a whole range of things, but that wasn’t the point. Daddy promised that things would be different, so I thought if he knew I had been taken by another, he would back off.”

“In comes Archie, your knight in shining armour.” He hoped she was too distracted by her timeline to notice the venom lacing his words.

“Archie isn’t _my_ anything.” She looked up at Jughead, and he felt the entire atmosphere in the trailer change. His heart skipped a beat, and he prayed that this wasn’t just wishful thinking. “Jug, Archie is great, but it is strictly platonic. Archie gets to be on my fathers’ good side, and there’s a whole host of benefits that come with that. It’s a good choice for his future.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Somehow, he’s found himself with his face so close to hers. A breath between their lips. Lips that he can’t tear his eyes away from. “Like you don’t already know.”

He runs through all the times he’s wanted to kiss her. All the times outside Pops, when she’s been waiting at his locker, when she wouldn’t shut up and admit he was right… when they were watching the movie at the drive in. All those missed opportunities, and now she was here. Wanting him. Telling him that she felt it too.

It’s too much for his brain to handle.

So he doesn’t ask it to.

He closes his eyes and leaps.

A simple brush of the lips and the entire world shatters around them. He pulls away and she whines, the noise coming from deep within. He’s pretty sure she doesn’t know that she made that noise, but _he_ knows and it emboldens him enough to cup her face with both his hands and try again, skimming her lips with his over and over.

“Jughead, please.” Her impatient and needy voice sends his blood shooting straight down south and he’s about to give her what she’s looking for when she pulls away.

***

The problem with kissing Veronica Lodge, he thinks as he walks up to school the next day, is that now he knows what it’s like he can’t stop thinking about it. She’s waiting for him by the entrance, coffee in hand and a slight blush on her cheeks.

 _Oh._ He realises. _She can’t stop thinking about it either._

As much as he wants to, he can’t forget that they’re around their so-called peers, so he clears his throat and brings up the one topic that will be like cold water to both of them.

“Is everything alright with your dad?” Turned out she wasn’t pulling away because she wasn’t interested in kissing him anymore, but instead she was being summoned by Daddy Dearest. He apparently didn’t appreciate her leaving Pops before her driver returned.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” She replies, breezily, before pushing open the door and heading inside.

For the first time, he feels awkward around her. Did last night change anything? Would she mention it to Archie? Are they together, but in secret?

He opens his mouth to ask something, anything, and she catches him looking like a goldfish. “I’ve got cheerleading today, but Pops tonight? 7 o’clock?”

“Only if you’re paying.”

“Jones, I’m _always_ paying.”

He can’t tear his eyes off her as she walks away.

***

For the first time in his life he’s early, stomach flipping over and over, anxiously tapping on the diner table. For a Friday, Pops is practically empty, for which he would usually be grateful but today he’s wishing for the distraction. He’d originally brought his laptop, thinking writing might sooth his over-active mind, but it’s left unopened. Besides from their good morning, he hadn’t seen Veronica all day and he hadn’t been able to stop running through everything in his head. He couldn’t even _look_ at Archie and Betty, worrying that he might reveal something to them that they didn’t already know.

But all of that faded away when the bell to Pops rang and in walked Veronica.

“I’m just going to put all my cards on the table here, Jug.” There were no pleasantries, no awkward chit chat, and for that Jughead was thankful. “I like you. I like you a _lot._ But that might not be enough. My dad is-“

“I can deal with Hiram.” He interrupts her, not caring about whatever excuse she was about to make.

“Daddy is the reason that the Serpents all but disbanded. You lost _everything_ because of my family. I couldn’t and wouldn’t expect you to look past that.” She sighs, head in her hands. “Whatever feelings I have for you, I can’t force you to go there with me. I completely understand if we pretend like last night didn’t happen and-”

“Do you _want_ to pretend it didn’t happen?”

She continues as if he hadn’t interrupted. “I can’t tell my dad that Archie and I are over – once he starts asking questions, he’s too good at finding the answers. We wouldn’t be able to be together in school, we wouldn’t be able to go on dates or do those couple things that Archiekins and I have been doing, it wouldn’t be much of a relationship at-“ She pauses, sees the look on his face and softens. “Of course I don’t want to pretend it didn’t happen.”

They both allow each other the chance to sit in silence for a few minutes and weigh up their options. For Jughead, really, there’s no other option. He’s come to terms with the fact that anyone who knew about them would see it as a betrayal of the Serpents. He’s accepted that there are risks, that it might make it harder to hold onto his grip of the Whyte Wyrm if he’s stepping out with a Lodge. He knows that it’s not going to be a usual relationship, that most of it will take place in secret – but who said he wanted a normal relationship with her?

He doesn’t care, and he tells her this. Her eyes flash with something dark and dangerous (and it’s the sexiest thing he’s seen), and she stands up, tells him she’ll see him later. There’s a promise in that “later”, and he finds himself lost until his phone vibrates.

Looking at it, he sees an address (which he recognises as the Five Seasons), a number (it doesn’t take brains to work out that it’s a room number), and a message.

**Give me half an hour. The front desk are expecting you. Love V x**

He counts down the seconds from 1800. As soon as he’s able, he’s running out of Pops and jumping on his motorcycle.

As promised, the receptionist didn’t blink an eye at his name, instead sliding him a key card and pointing out the elevator. His heart thudding in his chest, he wonders if he should have thought through this more. He assumes that this is just a way to escape prying eyes, her dads watchful gaze. But what if it _wasn’t?_

He begins to wish he’d brought breath mints. He begins to wish he’d worn aftershave. He begins to think that he’ll walk in and Archie will be waiting there to punch his lights out because how dare Jughead go for his girl.

He gets to the door and runs through all the scenarios, almost looking for one that will convince him to turn around. Not because he doesn’t want Veronica – my god, the thought of anybody not wanting to completely worship that girl is ludicrous – but because of the thought that she might not want him, and he doesn’t know if he can deal with that.

As if she senses his presence, his phone buzzes in his pocket.

**Trust me – V x**

And so he takes a deep breath and goes inside.

..........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter this weekend - but I think I might start updating mid-week as well? I don't know if I've mentioned but this thing is like 70,000 works...
> 
> Todays Jeronica video shout out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNi2akDrqa4


	6. Heavenly Taste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If he’d allowed himself a moment to think, he’d lose himself completely to the now-undeniable fact that all this time that he’d wanted her, she’d wanted him. That when she made plans to meet with him at Pops that evening, this was already in motion. She’d booked a suite, she’d made arrangements to have it decked out like this, she’d decided to wear that under her clothes… 
> 
> It’s everything that he never believed he could have, that he had barely admitted to himself that he wanted.

He’d walked into the room and spied a flickering light coming from one of the rooms (because of course Veronica Lodge had gone for a whole suite, what else did he expect?), which he followed. Standing against the doorframe of the bedroom, he swore he’d never seen a more beautiful sight – Veronica Lodge, lit by candlelight, lounging on the bed in a black lacy bra and underwear, eyes watching him watch her.

If he’d allowed himself a moment to think, he’d lose himself completely to the now-undeniable fact that all this time that he’d wanted her, she’d wanted him. That when she made plans to meet with him at Pops that evening, this was already in motion. She’d booked a suite, she’d made arrangements to have it decked out like this, she’d decided to wear _that_ under her clothes… It’s everything that he never believed he could have, that he had barely admitted to himself that he wanted.

But he doesn’t let himself think, refusing to break eye contact as he takes a couple of steps into the room. There’s a challenge in her eyes, a _this is me, what are you gonna do about it Jones?_ type look, and it’s nothing short of intoxicating. He quickly shrugs off his leather jacket and overshirt, letting them hit the floor before he kicks them away. The look in her eyes flashes, and that emboldens him to get rid of his vest and start to unbuckle his belt. His shoes, socks and jeans follow his jacket, and then he’s left in nothing but his hat and his boxers.

It’s only then when she moves, climbing off the bed to invade his personal space, her arms around his neck, fingers reaching up to play with the edge of his hat. For everyone else, he wouldn’t have dreamed of taking it off. But then he noticed her neck was empty, her pearl necklace (her own security blanket) left behind somewhere. And if she could let herself be vulnerable around him, at the very least he should allow himself to be vulnerable with her.

And so, the beanie was removed, and with his arms around her waist, her fingers running through his hair, they finally ( _finally_ ) kissed. Much like the previous night (had it only been last night?) the first kisses were nothing more than a light brushing. His heart is skipping every other beat, his blood running south and he’s not doing a thing to stop it.

Quickly his grip on her waist tightens (there’s a part of him that wants to mark her, to remind her later that there was a time where she was his and no one else’s, just in case this is his only opportunity), and their kisses become harder, more insistent. He’s not sure who opens their mouth first, him or her, but suddenly his tongue is brushing against hers and she’s being pushed against the bed. Her breath hitches and her legs are around his waist, and in response his hands reach up to remove her bra and palm at her breasts.

He’s _so_ hard, and _so_ turned on, but he wants her to be at that level too. His lips move from hers, to her jaw, to her neck, and he’s sucking and varying the pressure until her grip on his head tightens. He lets one hand sneak between her legs where he finds her wet and wanting. A groan slips out of his lips in response, pushing her back onto the mattress.

They manoeuvre themselves so that she’s lying against the pillows, and his lips are on hers again, his fingers clumsily working against that little bundle of nerves. He wants this to be good for her, he wants to make her fall apart. “Jughead, _please_ ” she whines, her hips bucking against his hand, and he relishes in this moment, before changing course of action. He backs up, pulls her underwear down her legs, and just _looks_ at her.

As absolutely stunning as she is, as soon as she starts begging, he knows what he has to do (what he desperately wants to do). Which is him with his fingers inside of her and his tongue working at her clit.

She tastes _heavenly._

Sometimes he lays his tongue flat against her and lets her grind, but mainly he’s paying attention to her responses, using that to guide his movements, building her up to the crescendo of her orgasm, as her thighs clench together around his head, her fingernails digging into his skull, a soft moan tumbling out of her lips as she rides out her orgasm on his mouth.

There’s a moment after he removes his fingers from her, after he slips them into his mouth and sucks the taste off them (and feels himself twitch below his waist as she gasps at the sight), where he pauses, rests his head against her thigh. The next step is hers. He knows what he wants, but if she ends it here then she ends it here. He’d end the evening palming himself to completion at the first chance he got, but he wouldn’t force her to do anything.

It’s as he’s come to this conclusion, when he’s about to check with her what she wants, when she starts tugging on his hair again. He climbs up, brushes her lips with his, and without hesitation she responds, crushing their lips together and slowly grinding her hips against his. Another groan slips out of him and he feels her smile, her hand reaching down between them to push his boxers down.

And now they’re both naked. He asks her if she has anything, and she replies that she’s on birth control, and if they need anything. He knows he was Toni’s first, and she was his, and although there was no romantic love between them there was at least an understanding that they were exclusively fucking. So he responds to Veronica with a negative, and she kisses him again, her hand already guiding him inside her.

He’s never understood the appeal of sex. He’s never really understood how it ruined relationships, defined peoples lives and was seemingly the motivation to everything. He got that he was human, and it cleared his head, and there were certain biological aspects that helped make him a better writer. With Toni it had been fine – he’d got what he needed from it, she had demanded what she needed from it, but it wasn’t _good_ , not by any stretch of the imagination.

But it’s when he’s inside Veronica, and she’s gasping and moaning underneath him, her nails digging into his back and her raven hair splayed out around her head like a halo, when he’s coming completely undone, that he gets it. He understands why films and poetry and entire god damn novels were dedicated to it.

He rolls his hips experimentally, and watches her eyes roll back into her head. And it’s then that he falls apart, her moans and gasps the soundtrack. And she falls apart with him.

***

“I want to help you get the Serpents back.” They’ve been lying in comfortable silence, his arm around her and her hands stroking patterns in his chest.

“If this is your idea of pillow talk, Veronica…”

“I’ve been thinking about it as soon as I realised my feelings for you weren’t strictly platonic. You can deny it if you want, but they are your family. Your dad might not deserve you, but you deserve to have people you can rely on for the nitty gritty stuff.” She props herself up to look at him, her brown eyes wide. “Archie and Betty would do anything for you, but-“

“There’s some lines I wouldn’t expect them to cross.”

“But I can cross them. That darkness you have? I have it too.” He knows she does. Maybe that was why he fought this so hard in the beginning. “Jug, we don’t have to discuss it now. Planning it alone would take hours and hours.”

He doesn’t want to hope, that’s why he’s arguing with her. Hope that he could have his family back, that he wouldn’t have been behind the destruction of an age-old gang, that Hiram Lodge could be defeated, and Riverdale would be like it was, like it’s always been. It was never perfect, but it was home.

“I tried fighting your dad before, Veronica, and that’s what got me here.” She freezes, and he runs through what he had just said and realises how it could sound. “Veronica, I didn’t mean you-“

“I knew exactly what you meant, Forsythe.” Her words are like daggers, her voice ice. His heart breaks at the idea that this is something that she’s gone through before – that she’d opened her heart before and had it crushed before the night was even over.

“Veronica, stop.” His grip on her tightens slightly. Not enough that she wouldn’t be able to leave if she wanted to, but enough that she knows he doesn’t want her to. “I meant the Serpents, I meant the Whyte Wyrm, I meant my dad. You…” He pauses, uses his free hand to reach up and cup her face, thumb stroking her cheek gently. “Whatever this is between us, whatever happens from now on – god, even if it ends in chaos and complete destruction, I can safely say that it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“Jug…” She breathes, all ice melted.

He leans up, brushes her lips with his and rests his forehead on hers. “If you think we can take on Hiram Lodge and win, then I believe in you, in us.”

..........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't written smut since 2013, so this was a brain exercise and a HALF. No cliffhanger ending this time, but we're not even a fifth of the way through this thing, so you know there's more drama to come. This is Riverdale, after all.
> 
> Video recommendation? Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nXZo_yjehM


	7. Secret or No Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Betty didn’t know was that Jughead spends his time looking at his phone because Veronica is texting him, and the times he’s spending blanking them is so that they don’t notice how distracted he is. Veronica is dangerous, and she knows exactly what she does to him just through her words. They’ve not discussed who knows what, but Jughead assumes she doesn’t want word to get out. And if he looks at her for more than a second, he’ll find himself lunging across the lunch table to crush his lips against hers, and then there would be no secret.

“What’s going on with you and Veronica?” It was the end of the day on Thursday, nearly two weeks after their romantic hotel stay, and Jughead had been careful not to let their secret bleed into their day to day life. Which had apparently led to Betty confronting him at his locker. “I know she’s not your favourite person in the world, but I thought we were past all that! I thought we all got along now!” Bettys eyes are shining, as if the mere thought of her two friends not liking each other was traumatic. Which for Betty Cooper it probably was, even though she had more than enough trauma in her life already.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Betty.” He closes his locker door slowly, not really wanting to have this kind of conversation at the moment.

“I’m talking about how last week you two would spend all of lunch arguing-“

“I’d call it debating.”

“- _arguing_ about some indie filmmaker that no one else had heard of, to the point where you both ignored Archie and me. And now suddenly you won’t even look at her!” Jughead flicks his eyes around to see if the raven-haired princess was close by. “Jughead, you spend all of lunch either looking at your phone or completely blanking everyone, and it’s not nice.”

What Betty didn’t know was that Jughead spends his time looking at his phone because Veronica is texting him, and the times he’s spending blanking them is so that they don’t notice how distracted he is. Veronica is dangerous, and she knows exactly what she does to him just through her words. They’ve not discussed who knows what, but Jughead assumes she doesn’t want word to get out. And if he looks at her for more than a second, he’ll find himself lunging across the lunch table to crush his lips against hers, and then there would be no secret.

“Veronica and I are fine, Betty. You don’t need to worry about that.” He spies her turning the corner, eyes searching around, looking for him. She stills when she spots Betty at his locker, a brief expression of _something_ crossing her face before she recomposes herself and continues her walk towards them.

“Betty! Just the girl I was looking for.” They hug briefly, as if they haven’t seen each other repeatedly throughout the day. “Are you talking about Cheryl’s soiree?”

“Jughead doesn’t _do_ parties.” Betty looks back at him and answers the question he hadn’t got around to asking. “It’s the anniversary of the fire at Thornhill, so Cheryl is _of course_ inviting people over to honour the occasion.”

“She’s referring to it as her phoenix party – her rise from the ashes, as it were.” Veronica giggles, rolling her eyes. The relationship between Veronica and the head of the River Vixens had been turbulent since the Lodges arrival in town, to say the least – even Jughead was aware of that. But as far as he could tell, game recognises game, and there was a level of respect between them that Cheryl rarely granted.

“She did say invite whoever, so I’m sure you’re welcome if you want, Jug. Archie and Veronica are going, Toni will be there, Kevin will be there, I’m going…”

It’s jealousy, through and through, that inspires him to accept. He knows that Veronica and Archie are fake, he knows they have to exist so that he and Veronica can continue doing what they’re doing. But that doesn’t mean that he likes that they’re a package deal. It’s not Veronica, Archie, others. It was Veronica and Archie, others. And he can practically taste the bitterness in his mouth.

He knows it’s not an attractive quality, but he ignores Veronicas texts that night, instead choosing to work on his novel at the Whyte Wyrm. She could come and find him – there’s really only 3 places that he would be – but she chooses not to, and the bitterness doesn’t stop swirling in his gut. 

***

“I assume we’re fighting, Torombolo.” He chooses to ignore the nickname, knowing that it’s to get a rise out of him and pissed off that he didn’t get to ignore Veronica for longer. Of course, cheerleading practise was cancelled (Cheryl had decided to take the day off school to give herself chance to adequately prepare for her social event), and Betty and Archie hadn’t shown up yet. Meaning that even when he’d turned up for lunch late, he’d had to be the one to greet Veronica at the lunch table alone.

He knows he’s being petty. He knows that Veronica hasn’t done anything wrong. He knows this is what he signed up for. He knows all of these things, and yet he can’t help himself from ignoring her, and barely acknowledging Betty and Archie when they show up.

No change from the usual, then.

***

He’d skipped school after lunch, wanting to avoid a repeat of yesterdays confrontation from Betty. That doesn’t mean that she’d let him pretend their plans didn’t exist. Apparently, he’d signed up to some sort of double date situation without realising.

**I’m getting ready with Veronica tonight, so swing by there and we’ll head over together? – B x**

**Her dad apparently won’t be there, if you’re worried about that. – B x**

**You don’t have to come inside, even. – B x**

**I’m glad you’re coming, though. – B x**

He climbs onto his bike and starts the journey to the Pembrooke, regretting his jealousy-fuelled decision already. When he arrives, he parks 10 minutes walk away, motorbike hidden from plain sight. Even though Hiram isn’t going to be there, he doesn’t trust that one of his staff might “accidentally” cause irreparable damage.

***

A few hours later, he was regretting every decision he’d ever made that had led him to this point – watching as Veronica giggled on Archie’s lap, his arm loose around her waist. There was only so much he could take before he began to question the validity of the story he had been told. Fake boyfriends don’t spend the entire journey from the Pembrooke to Cheryl’s with their gaze switching between the road and Veronicas cleavage. Fake boyfriends don’t stay by Veronicas side all night. Fake boyfriends don’t grind against Veronica and claim they’re partaking in dancing, lips on her neck.

Betty gave up on keeping him company after the first twenty minutes, and he’s thankful. This is the kind of misery that he wouldn’t want to inflict on her. Cheryl had been surprised for all of 5 seconds that he had showed, but even she took one look at the expression on his face and recognised that this was not the evening to play with him (he supposes that’s Toni’s influence).

The problem was that Veronica looked stunning. Her black dress was tight, low cut but with fabric criss-crossing across her chest, her hair slightly curled and her lips her trademark dark colour. As much as it pained him to see her with Archie, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her if he tried.

“Just because you’ve been avoiding me for months, doesn’t mean I don’t still care.” Toni appears at his side, and he can feel himself relax slightly. No matter how they ended, no matter what went on between them, she had been his best friend when he had no one else. She stuck by his side until the end, and even though he hadn’t spoken to her it wasn’t because he harboured any resentment towards her. She was entitled to follow her heart, just as he hoped she’d forgive him for his. “How long has it been going on?”

The shock makes him turn to face her. “Come on, Jones. Everyone else might pretend this is just your ‘I hate parties I hate my peers I hate Veronica Lodge for what she did to my Serpents’ but you forget I know you too well.” She pauses, her hand instinctively reaching up to her ribs, where he knows her tattoo is. “So I repeat. How long has this been going on?”

He clears his throat, not sure if this would go against Veronicas wishes. But then he spies Archie whispering something in her ear, and for the moment he doesn’t give a fuck. “A few weeks.”

“Behind Archie’s back?”

“Not technically.”

“Are they fake?” Toni Topaz, seeing through everything without even trying. “I figured you wouldn’t do anything to hurt Archie. You’re too good of a person.” He opens his mouth to defend himself, and she chuckles. “Jones, you called off the fight with Hiram not to take the cash for yourself, but to give back what we’d lost. You protested the close of the drive-in, knowing that was where some of us had been sleeping -hiding, even. You kept a roof over my head even before you knew me. You’re a good person. That doesn’t mean you’re not tough, and it doesn’t mean like you can’t use a knife when you need to.” She reaches over, places her hand on his arm, where she knows _his_ tattoo is. “If you see something in her that I don’t, if she makes you happy, you need to be honest with her. If their relationship is a little too convincing, talk to her.”

“Cheryl made you soft.”

She looks over at her girlfriend and smiles.

“Yeah, she did.”

“And you’re happy?” There’s a melancholy feeling between them. Had the Lodges not rolled into town, Toni would have stayed a Serpent forever. Her and Jughead would have likely stayed together until they died. He wouldn’t have been happy, and neither would she, but maybe they would have found some contentment in being King and Queen.

“I’m really happy, Jones. And you deserve to be too.”

And then the conversation is over, and Jughead is left with his thoughts. Thoughts that are stifling within these four walls.

***

He goes outside for a cigarette and when he comes back, Veronica and Archie aren’t where he left them. Toni catches his eye and gives him a sympathetic look, and his heart is in his throat. Stumbling room to room, he can’t find them.

“Hey, I left something in Archie’s truck, do you know where he is?” He asks Betty.

“Um, I think I saw them go into the kitchen –“ The word isn’t even fully out of her mouth when he’s already turning away to walk in that direction. “Hey, wait, Juggie.” She grabs his forearm and the butterflies swirl in his stomach. He knows he’s going to see something he doesn’t want to see, but he _needs_ to know. “Juggie, I just wanted to say I’m really glad we’re friends again.”

“Betty, you don’t need to do this.” He grounds out, everything in his body screaming out for him to face the music.

“No, Jug, I do.” She pauses, eyes glassy. He knows she’s had at least a couple of drinks, as has everyone else. He likes to pretend like he doesn’t come to these parties because he despises the people, and that is true, but really, it’s because it’s hard to be around drunken people when they just remind him of his dad, remind him of his childhood. He coped with the Serpents because he had to. For a lot of them it was too late for them to even think about changing, their livers already ruined. But his peers, a lot of them would look back with fondness on their time in high school and before you know it alcohol would be their crutch when things got hard.

But Betty didn’t know that. Betty didn’t need to know that.

“Jug, I messed up. You were still you, even when you were a Serpent. And I nearly lost you for good, and I forced Archie to make a decision, and…” She trails off, alcohol thick in her mouth. He takes that moment to push her gently towards the nearest group of people and turns to head towards the kitchen.

And, as he walks into the room, he wishes he hadn’t.

To their credit, they do break away as soon as they hear his “sorry”. To Veronicas credit, she does look incredibly guilty. She opens her mouth to say something, but then closes it again.

He’s not sure what she would say to stop the anger building inside him, to stop his throat closing, the actual physical pain in his chest. He knew this is what he would see (if not worse), so why does it feel like someone has thrown a bucket of ice over him?

He doesn’t stick around to give Veronica a chance to form a sentence, already storming out.

..........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the hits, everyone! The validation is very appreciated.
> 
> Jeronica video shout-out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlGHAiVdSdk


	8. Some Kind of Project

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He doesn’t respond, not wanting to say anything in the heat of an argument (blame Toni for that rational thinking) but also too angry still to say anything else.
> 
> She stops about a metre away from him, her chest heaving. The fact that she had ran to catch up with him starts a small blossom of hope inside him, as much as he tries to squash it. They’d had a good run – two weeks – but there’s no doubt in his mind that she’d found something worth changing her mind over. Something that had made her realise her fake relationship with Archie Andrews, oy next door with a heart of gold, was worth pursuing. “Jughead, talk to me. What you saw in the kitchen was just a hug between friends, and I don’t know what I did wrong-“
> 
> He snaps.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to make it home, really. A part of him was tempted to hot wire Archie’s truck and take that home, but then he remembered Betty would have been left. He’d hoped that he would figure it out before he made it to the front of the grounds, but there was no such luck. So he’d paced around for a few minutes, knowing that he only had a short time before somebody noticed he was gone and came after him.

“What the fuck, Jughead?” If you’d asked him, he would have put money on it being Betty that followed him, drunk as she was, but apparently it was her dark-haired best friend. “You were just going to leave without letting me explain?”

He doesn’t respond, not wanting to say anything in the heat of an argument (blame Toni for that rational thinking) but also too angry still to say anything else.

She stops about a metre away from him, her chest heaving. The fact that she had ran to catch up with him starts a small blossom of hope inside him, as much as he tries to squash it. They’d had a good run – two weeks – but there’s no doubt in his mind that she’d found something worth changing her mind over. Something that had made her realise her fake relationship with Archie Andrews, oy next door with a heart of gold, was worth pursuing.  “Jughead, talk to me. What you saw in the kitchen was just a hug between friends, and I don’t know what I did wrong-“

He snaps.

“Maybe I wasn’t so keen on that display you were putting on in there!” He shoots back, rationale out the window. “Maybe I don’t like seeing my girlfriend being pawed by the star quarterback.”

“You know it’s not real.” Her eyes are filling with tears.

“Then what is real? Us? Our evenings behind closed doors, the fact that neither of our best friends know anything about it?” He pauses, catches his breath. He wanted to be honest with her, not to make her upset. He wanted to have some tangible proof that this wasn’t just some project, some temporary phase, before she goes back onto the path she was originally on, where she ends up with someone like Archie Andrews and he ends up with nobody. Where he ends up losing everybody again.

She doesn’t say anything in response, and he has nothing else to say. Not tonight, anyway, not while his jealousy weighs down on his shoulders, his own insecurity turning his stomach. Maybe she hadn’t realised their relationship – if you could even call it that – was a mistake before, but she was definitely realising it now.

“Archie says take the truck – he’s too drunk to drive anyway. We’ll use the car, take Betty home, and he’ll come pick it up tomorrow.” She’s holding out a set of keys to him, which he takes, grateful that she won’t force him to stay, although she’s just really cementing the idea that this is nothing to her.

She doesn’t move until after he drives away.

***

The next day he awakes around noon after a fitful night of sleep to banging at the trailer door. With a glance through the peephole, he sees that it’s Archie and grabs the keys that he left on the side to hand to him.

“Rough night?” Archie grins, rubs a hand across his face in response. “Did you all get home okay?”

“Yeah, course. Ronnie’s driver came and collected us. I could get used to living like that, you know.” There’s an awkward pause between them. “Look, Ronnie was really upset. I don’t know what is going on between you but she’s my girl and-”

“Is she, Archie?” He shoots back at him, jealousy flaring up. Sometimes Archie takes a while to add the numbers up, but this was not one of those times. His mouth falls open but nothing comes out. “Yes, I know.”

“Is that what last night was about? Look, we have to keep up appearances. If Hiram knew it was fake-“

“I don’t think all of it is fake. Veronica looked like a pretty willing participant.”

“Jughead, she’s seeing someone else.” Jugheads heart skips a beat. “She told me about a week ago, and that her dad wouldn’t approve, and she asked if we could still keep up appearances. Her dad has connections everywhere, and there was no guarantee that someone else there wasn’t in his pocket.”

“I doubt Hiram Lodge cares that much about what goes on at a high school party.”

“I don’t think you know Hiram as well as she does.”

“Don’t you work for him?” This is the first time he’s been able to ask the question that have floated around his mind for weeks, since Veronica told him about her arrangement with Archie. He never wanted to bring it up when they were together, instead choosing to spend their time on other things (either physical, intellectual, or researching the charges against all the Serpents), plus Veronica had confessed that her dealings within Lodge Industries were strictly on a need-to-know basis (and she’d prefer to keep her hands as clean as possible).

“I keep Ronnie safe, and he asks me to do some drop offs for him.”

“Drugs? Archie, are you insane?”

“Not drugs. Messages. Envelopes of cash. Stuff that isn’t going to get me in trouble.”

“Archie, you’re in dealings with the devil. You know he’ll find a way to get you in trouble.”

“So now you understand why Ronnie and I have to keep up appearances.”

His blood is turning cold. All this time he thought his feelings for Veronica were putting himself at risk. That if Hiram Lodge found out he’d repeatedly defiled his only child, his beloved daughter, he’d kill Jughead and that would be that. Only to find out that by Archie being in on the lie, he’s at risk too. Because he can’t imagine that Hiram would be kind to anyone who had lied to him.

“Archie, I want you to be safe.”

Without responding, Archie gestures for the keys and then takes them. They share a look, and Jughead feels lost. If he gets the Serpents out of jail, they can protect him. They can protect Archie. Hell, they’d probably even protect Veronica if she’s the reason they’re free. But in continuing this thing with Veronica, he’s putting her and Archie even more at risk.

If he was a good person, he’d be thankful that Veronica is inevitably going to dump Jughead. But he finds himself asking a question that he shouldn’t, curiosity getting the better of him. “This guy she’s seeing. Did she say anything about him?”

“Jug, I think she really likes him. I don’t think she’d bother if she didn’t.”

***

**Can we talk? – J x**

He winces as he sends that message, realising it doesn’t even come close to starting the conversation he wants to be having. But he doesn’t want to share his soul via SMS, and he doesn’t want to say nothing and hope that he catches her at school. He wants to talk to her, to explain everything to her. Veronica is the first person who he can just have an actual conversation with, and he hates that he could have sabotaged that because of his stupid jealousy.

25 minutes and 43 seconds go by.

**I need to apologise, I think. – J x**

Maybe now she’ll realise that he’s come to the conclusion that he’s an idiot.

Another 29 minutes pass.

**Pops? I promise I won’t steal all your fries. – J x**

He’s desperate, now. And it shows. He knows that logically the kitchen hug was just that – a hug between friends. Archie had been dealing with some stuff with his mum, Hiram might have said something to make Veronica upset (as much as he hates that she turned to Archie in her hour of need, he now knows how important it is that their relationship looks real to everyone).

**Open your door. – V**

He jumps up, knocks over a cup in the process and sends it flying to the floor, staining his jeans in the process. Swearing, he debates in his mind if he has the willpower to clean up before flinging open the door, before he admits that he doesn’t.

She looks as immaculate as ever, not a hair out of place. But the polite smile she gives him doesn’t quite reach her eyes, and there’s a hint of an unfallen tear. He doesn’t know if he should talk first or if he should give her the opportunity to say whatever it is that she came over here to say.

“I told my driver I needed some air, and I don’t trust them to not come hunting for me. At least if we’re not at Pops they won’t find me for a little while longer.” She shrugs in explanation, already sitting down on the couch. Jughead feels a slight hint of relief, that this isn’t some sort of flying visit, that she’s at least willing to talk. He knows that usually he tells her watcher that she has cheerleading practise to give them time after school, and that over the weekend she claims a girls hangout with some of the Vixens. He has no doubt that Cheryl understands the importance of keeping secrets from your parents.

“You told Archie you were seeing someone.” It’s a statement, not a question, but she nods anyway. “You didn’t need to do that.”

“Didn’t I?” She scoffs, not meeting his eyes.

“No, you didn’t.”

There’s a pause, a moment of silence between them, but it’s not necessarily an awkward one. He chooses to sit down next to her.

“Me telling Archie was because he needed to know. It… _changes_ things between him and I, and I don’t want to lie to him. I didn’t think that you were doubting us, and that’s on me. I just assumed that you knew how I felt, and that was enough.” He feels the weight slide off his shoulders, hope blossoming in his heart. “Please believe me when I say this.” She turns to face him completely, hands resting on his cheeks. “Jughead Jones, you are not and never will be a project to me. You’re not a placeholder. You’re not a way for me to get back at my father. You do not ever have to be worried about me and Archie, but…” She sighed, mouth seemingly turning over the next words. “I’m sorry that we did that. I took it too far.”

There’s nothing he can say that would mean as much to her as her words have meant to him, so he just thanks her, gruffly. “Thank you for telling Archie _something_.”

And just like that, their fight was over. They had a new level of understanding between each other. She’d seen him angry and jealous and upset and she was still here. She had apologised even though it pained her to do so.

He knows it’s too early. He knows that it makes him open to attack. He knows this is not going to end the way he hopes. She either loses everything or he loses her. But she’s here. And he’s here. And they’ll face it all together.

He, Jughead Jones the Third, of the Southside Serpents, is falling in _love_ with Veronica Lodge, of the Park Avenue Lodges.

He blinks, choosing to compartmentalise that thought and deal with it when she’s not right in front of him, a smile playing on her lips. A smile that he’s incredibly thankful to see. “You know, I realised something, when I was lying awake, dramatically staring out my window last night.”

“Veronica Lodge, being dramatic? Never.” He smiles back at her, and she rolls her eyes.

“Choosing to ignore that, Jones.” Veronica reaches up and removes his hat, without asking for permission, without hesitation.

“What did you realise?” He feels the weight of arousal low in his abdomen as she leans in close.

“You called me your _girlfriend._ ”

She gives him a second to deny it, to backtrack, to take it back. But he doesn’t, instead answering her unasked question by pressing his lips to hers.

..........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to promise that our V isn't going to play with Jugheads emotions again, but they're them and there's a lot working against them... You'll just have to keep reading!! :) 
> 
> Fanvideo recommendation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSwEkN2WXtY (I read a fic by partyhardy (called "have i been too discrete") about how Veronica was going to choose Jughead for spin the bottle in the season final, and I played this video immediately after, and I JUST HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS)


	9. She Can('t) Be Trusted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As far as Hiram Lodge knew, his daughter was helping Archie run for Student Body President (which, he was). It required many a late night and as they were trying to prove he was a man of the people, it was not uncommon for them to venture towards the Southside in their efforts. Sometimes Veronica would go by herself, and Archie would be busy at practise, or with music practise. Jughead had come up with that idea as soon as Archie had announced he was running.
> 
> But keeping track of the lie was proving exhausting for Veronica, and Jughead knew she wasn’t sleeping well. He’d caught her dozing on his sofa more than once or twice, and although he wanted to let her sleep, to wrap her up in one of his blankets and just watch her dreaming, he knew he couldn’t. Not if they wanted to keep their planning a possibility.

“I still think we start with Tall Boy.”

“And I think that I’m still not over _that_ nickname.” Veronica giggles, taking a sip of her milkshake. They’re working from the trailer, as per usual, but considering they had both been burning the candle at both ends they’d decided to swing by Pops en-route.

As far as Hiram Lodge knew, his daughter was helping Archie run for Student Body President (which, he was). It required many a late night and as they were trying to prove he was a man of the people, it was not uncommon for them to venture towards the Southside in their efforts. Sometimes Veronica would go by herself, and Archie would be busy at practise, or with music practise. Jughead had come up with that idea as soon as Archie had announced he was running.

But keeping track of the lie was proving exhausting for Veronica, and Jughead knew she wasn’t sleeping well. He’d caught her dozing on his sofa more than once or twice, and although he wanted to let her sleep, to wrap her up in one of his blankets and just watch her dreaming, he knew he couldn’t. Not if they wanted to keep their planning a possibility.

So, they spent a few weeks compiling information about every single one of the Serpents charges. The younger ones had been taken to juvie and the few ones without a criminal record had been entered into the care system, and that would have to be a battle for another time. What this meant was that there weren’t as many Serpents to choose from as Jughead would like, but something was better than nothing. Veronica was on the case for finding a lawyer who wasn’t on her father’s payroll, but who was still good enough to be of use to them. Jughead had been tasked with figuring out the ins and outs of their cases.

“Tall Boy is my father’s right-hand man. He dealt with everything. If we can get him out, and we can convince him that we can take down Hiram, then half the battle is won.”

“But that’s why I’m saying Penny Peabody. According to you, she’s got links with the Ghoulies. If we can get her on our side, the Ghoulies are done, and my father has lost his Riot Club.” Veronica sighs, reaches her hand out to place on Jugheads. “Jug, your dad is going to be a hard man to win over. He won’t trust me until I’ve proven myself, and I won’t be able to prove myself until Daddy is weakened.”

Jughead thinks this through, weighing up all the pros and cons. Tall Boy taught him everything he knows. When FP went down, Tall Boy took him under his wing, became a pseudo dad. Without him, Jughead would have surely frozen to death that first winter, starved that first month, become completely lost that first week.

But Veronica is right. Tall Boy has no sway with anyone important, so he needed to think with his head and not with his heart – listen to logic and not sentimentality. As long as they got him out before visiting FP, they’d be fine.

***

Penny Peabody was a piece of work, but she spoke money. And when they managed to get her cleared of all charges and then placed a wad of cash in her greedy hands, with a promise of more to ensure the Ghoulies disbanded when they needed to, they had an understanding. Jughead and Veronica had decided that they weren’t ready to rock the boat yet – not until they had more power on their side. Penny getting out due to some sort of administrative error was fair game, it could happen. If the Ghoulies stopped wanting to cause chaos? That would start alarm bells ringing in Hiram’s head.

They keep working, though. To the point that Jughead realises it’s been a month since they spent time together doing anything but working these cases. Veronica wouldn’t complain (he knows she harbours a lot of guilt for her families involvement in the Serpents demise), but he makes the executive decision that when this is all over, when the Serpents are free and Hiram has been beat and she’s free to be with anyone she wishes (he doesn’t believe in God, but he prays it’s him), he’s going to treat her right. Maybe they’ll go on a road trip, somewhere to celebrate graduation.

Archie won the election by a landslide, of course he did. Veronica stood by his side, ever the doting girlfriend. Jughead can’t believe he ever, for a second, believed that she held a light for the redhead. All those months ago, when he thought that she was only with Archie to manipulate everyone else around them, for the popularity and influence that dating the quarterback would bring her, he can’t believe he ever believed that either.

It’s now the summer vacation, which makes it simultaneously easier and harder to spend days together without rousing suspicion. Easier because during the summer Hiram returns to the city, to finish his work there without distraction. Harder because just because Hiram isn’t here, that doesn’t mean his minions aren’t. At least Archie managed to get onto a prestigious music course (it’s not suspicious at all that it’s also based in New York, Jughead thinks), so they don’t have to navigate more lies.

They get out the younger ones next. Not so young that they’d entered the care system, but young enough they’d been sent to juvie. Jughead had a lot of love for Sweet Pea and Fangs, so on their release date he wanted to be the one to greet them.

“You’re the reason they’re out, you should come too.” Jughead kissed her on her shoulder, arms wrapped around her waist, legs intertwined. They’d taken advantage of the first cooler day of the summer to heat things up a little.

“I’m the reason they were in there in the first place, I doubt they’d want that.” She pushes against him slightly, and he rolls over accordingly, hissing as the fabric sheets brush against the fresh scratches. It’s a good kind of pain though, one he would happily live through for the rest of his life if it meant he got to give Veronica pleasure. “Just… go greet your family. We can do introductions another time.”

It’s a feeling he’s lived through before – waiting at the gates for the freedom of a member of his family. Depending on the person, sometimes it’s a big event and the whole crew will be there. Sometimes it’s just a select few, the person getting out not wanting to make a big thing out of it – usually it depends on how many times they’ve been in.

This time, though, it’s just Jughead greeting them. But they react as if he’s all they needed, uncharacteristically hugging each other and grinning.

“Are you sure she can be trusted?” Fangs questions when they make it to the Whyte Wyrm and Jughead has given them a brief overview of everything that has been happening.

“Fangs is right. I don’t want to have to go back in there when it all blows up in our faces, all because you’ve been stepping out with her.” Jughead shoots him a warning look, but Sweet Pea has no intention of letting this slide. “Is she that good a fuc- “

The word doesn’t even finish coming out of his mouth before Jughead has him by the collar, fist raised. “What is going on between myself and Veronica is none of your business.” He hisses out. “If I say she can be trusted, she can be trusted.”

And that’s enough for them. As much as they might discuss it behind his back (and they all do, as they start to trickle out of jail), if the Serpent King says something the Serpents need to agree.

One day he walks into the Whyte Wyrm and Toni is working behind the bar. The grin nearly splits his face in two as he walks over and hugs her tight. “God, Jones, someone spike your drink?” But she hugs him back.

“It was Veronica, actually.” She explains later, when they’re going their separate ways. She’s going back to Cheryl’s, of course. “She told me everyone was getting released, and they needed all the help they can get. Wouldn’t explain any further, but I assume we’re going after Hiram?”

“We’ve got the Ghoulies on our side. It might not stand for much, in the end, but at least they won’t wreck everything.” He confirms, quickly filling her in.

“And you and Veronica?”

He confirms that too.

***

A few weeks later, Tall Boy gets out. One of the longest standing members of the Serpents, they all crowd around him when he walks in. Jughead leaves them too it, smoking outside. Tall Boy was a pseudo dad to a lot of them, and even though he knows he could use his title to demand a conversation first, it’s not the way he wants to play this.

Turns out there was no need for the conversation that he was going to have, as shortly after in walks FP. Heart in his throat, what feels like years of bad blood between them, Jughead doesn’t pay attention to anything and walks up to his father, envelops him in a hug. If ever there was a time to reject him, it’s now, whereby doing so would encourage a coup of some sort.

But that’s not what happens, and he begins to question the events that are unfolding that evening when he spies Veronica out the corner of his eye.

“Thank your girl for this one.” FP mutters in his ear, pats him on the back and the two men release each other. Jughead starts to question the use of “your girl”, but FP is already heading towards his extended family, with a promise of _we’ll talk later._

“What did you do, Veronica?”

She can’t seem to meet his eyes and it’s putting him on edge. “It was nothing.” After a moment, she relaxes slightly and looks up at him. “I promise, it’s not something you need to worry about now. The point is, your dad is back. The Serpents are back. We did it.”

He smiles in response, wraps one arm around her and presses his lips to her head. The next battle is to take down Hiram and Lodge Industries hold on Riverdale, but for tonight, they’ll just enjoy the time that they’re getting to spend together.

***

“Never thought I’d see you doing deals with the Lodges.” It’s 1am, and they’re sat on the steps to the Whyte Wyrm. FP nursing a beer (because of course he is), and Jughead running on nothing but emotional adrenaline.

“It’s Veronica, it’s not with the Lodges.” FP chuckles, but there’s no humour in it.

“She’s still a Lodge, boy, don’t you ever forget it.” He pauses, and Jughead is about to ask how he heard about their plan. “I’m just going to cut to the chase, Jughead. Your girl came to see me last week.”

“Veronica?”

FP shoots him a withering look. “She explained what you’d been working on, and that she’d figured out a way to get me out. But only if I wanted to.” He pauses, takes a swig of beer, and Jugheads head is spinning. “Here’s the thing, Jughead. I’m out. I’m out because I want to be. But I don’t and won’t owe anything to that Lodge girl. So as far as I’m concerned, you can step out with her with my blessing.” Another pause. “That being said, when this blows up, and we have to take the Lodges down, I’m not holding back. I don’t trust her. And you shouldn’t either.”

“I- “

“And when she betrays you, you’re going to lose a lot of respect. And don’t think the Serpents are going to take that lying down.”

***

_I don’t trust her. And you shouldn’t either._

Jughead hadn’t felt like celebrating after that conversation, instead hunting for Veronica inside. He spotted her, deep in conversation with Toni. She turns around and spots him, and there’s an intensity to her gaze that stuns him.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“We were just talking about the next step.” Toni butts in before Veronica can even open her mouth, and Jughead can’t ignore how his raven-haired girlfriend practically sags in relief. “You know, how we have the Ghoulies on our side, we have the Serpents back, but we don’t have enough to take down Hiram.”

“Is that really a conversation for 2am?”

“Summers nearly over, Jughead. If we can’t make the most of the night now, when can we?” Veronica finally contributes to the conversation, sounding almost like her normal self. But her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. He assumes she wants to head out and takes her hand accordingly.

He pretends he doesn’t see Toni mouthing something to her as they walk away.

***

It’s only when he moves to open the trailer door that she speaks. “Wait, Jug.”

“What’s going on with you?” There’s no anger in his reaction, just concern. Just worry. They’re meant to be partners in this, and he doesn’t really understand why she wouldn’t at least tell him that she’s found a way to get his dad out of jail. “I thought the whole point of this was that we were in it together.”

“Jug, just trust me on this. This was just one of those things that went smoother without your presence. Don’t you remember the fight you two had when he found out we were _friends?_ ” She reaches up and places both hands on his face, and when he’s looking in her big brown eyes, he falls even harder. “I need you to promise me something.”

“Anything.” And he means it. No matter what she’s keeping from him, no matter what his dad says.

“Promise me that no matter what happens from here on, you won’t for a second think that I didn’t mean all of it.”

“What are you talking about, Veronica?”

“Just promise me that you won’t doubt us.” She pauses, reaches up to brush her lips against his, just like that first time. “That you won’t doubt this.” In one swift movement, she pulls open the trailer door and pushes him inside, and then her lips are on his.

They fall onto the sofa, ignoring it creaking underneath him. She’s on top of him, grinding wantonly on his already hardening cock, his lips are on her neck, on the curve of her breasts. She’s moaning loudly, clutching at his shoulders as he moves with her. They’ve gone from 0 to 100 in the space of 60 seconds, and it is _intoxicating._

He yanks at her blouse, buttons falling apart as it falls off her shoulders. She’s pawing at his belt buckle, pulling his jeans open and releasing his cock from his boxers. They stop momentarily, and a flicker of immeasurable sadness passes across her face. But it’s gone, and her mouth is on him again, sucking, biting, licking. As if she can’t get enough of him.

They groan in unison as she sinks onto him. His fingers tighten on her hips, leaving bruises no doubt, and he’s sucking on a pulse point on her neck. Leaving his mark. Proving she’s his, against all odds.

Like every time they’ve done this, it doesn’t take long to find a rhythm, until he’s lost in her. He flips them over, drilling her into the cushions, his fingers on her clit, one hand massaging her breast, faster, faster. He’s completely gone, and the words are out of his mouth before he even realises he was thinking them.

“Fuck, I love you.”

She comes, then. A great, tumbling, body shaking, orgasm.

“Jughead Jones, I-“ She doesn’t finish what she was going to say as he crushes his lips against hers and spills into her.

..........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't watched this video, you're missing out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfR7ahWA8IQ


	10. Bring A Coffin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I know Hiram Lodge took everything from you, but I promise you we will get it all back. The Serpents aren’t dead yet, and if they want to tear the Southside from us, well, they better bring a coffin!” Jughead couldn’t look away, not even as the speech progressed, not even as the sinking feeling in his stomach got worse. This was it, then. Jughead had spent the past few months eating, sleeping and breathing the Serpents. Jughead and Veronica had wasted their last summer vacation working on getting all of them out, and not a single one of them was looking at him. No time had been wasted before the crown was being ceremoniously ripped from his head.
> 
> “So, bring the fire!” Everyone’s cheers merged into one resounding voice as FP took his shot and stepped down from the table. They all clapped him on the back, grins on their faces. As if FP had done anything to prove his worthiness of the title. As if he hadn’t stuck his head in the sand and prolonged his sentence.
> 
> They clocked eyes, then. Father and son. There was a steeliness to FPs gaze that sent a shiver down Jugheads spine.

“It’ll be a cold day in Hell before a snake lets a pig tell him what to do!” Jughead has shown up at the Whyte Wyrm the next evening, choosing to have spent as long as possible in the trailer. He had successfully avoided his father since their conversation, and he wasn’t looking for a repeat.

But, as soon as he walked in the door, he realised that there wouldn’t be a repeat – or at least not immediately. FP wasn’t going to be directing anything at Jughead on his own. Maybe it was because of the shot glasses that littered the bar, maybe it was the joy of freedom, maybe he just wanted the attention, but FP was stood atop a table, yelling at his family, his friends.

“I know Hiram Lodge took everything from you, but I promise you we will get it all back. The Serpents aren’t dead yet, and if they want to tear the Southside from us, well, they better bring a coffin!” Jughead couldn’t look away, not even as the speech progressed, not even as the sinking feeling in his stomach got worse. This was it, then. Jughead had spent the past few months eating, sleeping and breathing the Serpents. Jughead _and_ Veronica had wasted their last summer vacation working on getting all of them out, and not a single one of them was looking at him. No time had been wasted before the crown was being ceremoniously ripped from his head.

“So, bring the fire!” Everyone’s cheers merged into one resounding voice as FP took his shot and stepped down from the table. They all clapped him on the back, grins on their faces. As if FP had done _anything_ to prove his worthiness of the title. As if he hadn’t stuck his head in the sand and prolonged his sentence.

They clocked eyes, then. Father and son. There was a steeliness to FPs gaze that sent a shiver down Jugheads spine.

“What happened to me taking what was rightfully mine?”

“It’s not rightfully yours if you’re stepping out with a Lodge, boy.”

“Veronica is the reason why you’re here!” He can feel himself getting riled up, the anger lacing through his veins. “Veronica is the reason why everyone is here, why I didn’t give up when everyone left-“

“Are you fucking stupid?” FP grabs Jughead by the shoulders and gives him a shake. “None of these people would have left if they had a choice. They lost any choice when your girl and her family rolled into town.” He sighs, and even amongst the crowd, Jughead heard it echo. “You’re a fool if you think a girl who lives in the Northside, especially a Lodge, would ever do anything good for a Serpent. Not unless there’s something in it for her.”

“Something tells me you’re not talking about Veronica now.” He spits back at him. “Else you would have mentioned it last night when you were sober. Rather than all of this public bullcrap.”

“Careful, boy.”

“Which one of them was it – something tells me Hermione wasn’t your type, but how about Alice Cooper-“ Jughead doesn’t get to finish the rest of his sentence before a fist sends him sprawling to the ground. The pain blossoms from his jaw.

“Watch yourself, Jughead. Is this really the side that you want to be on?”

Looking up at his father, the taste of blood in his mouth, Jughead realises there’s not much of a choice.

***

He jumps on his motorcycle and rides over to the Pembrooke, knowing that Hiram Lodge is still out of town and that Veronica might be the only person that could make sense of all this. If FP takes on Hiram without Veronicas help, they’ll lose. Penny will betray them at first chance she gets without the money, and the Ghoulies will follow the cash trail. Without the Serpents, though, Jughead and Veronica don’t stand a chance at ending this without violence (without death, he thinks). They’re just two kids in love, and that’s nothing compared to Hiram and the power he holds.

When he pulls up, however, he hears a voice behind him. He doesn’t have to have had recent conversations with the man to recognise that it belongs to Hiram Lodge. He stills, mind running through the ways he can get out of this situation without blowing his and Veronicas cover.

“Jughead Jones, I think you should leave before I have you forcibly removed.” He doesn’t respond, hand already curling into a fist. He’s had enough problems with his own father this evening to deal with his girlfriends. It’s only when he turns around that he realises that Hiram isn’t alone. That Veronica is stood right behind him. He releases his fist.

“I heard your father is out of jail. I remember FP well, he’s a good man.” Every insult that Jughead could possibly throw at this man gets stuck in his throat. “I’m looking forward to doing business with him.”

“You stay _away_ from the Serpents.” He manages to ground out.

“That’s too late, Jughead.” Hiram laughs, but there’s little humour in it. It’s just a cold noise. “Or didn’t my daughter tell you?”

Veronica cringes, and Jughead can’t help but show his surprise. “In case you hadn’t forgotten, Veronica is a Lodge first. So, when one of my men reported that he’d spotted her with a Serpent, I was disappointed. Needless to say, I didn’t realise there was a greater plan, and that my daughter is smarter than I possibly gave her credit for.” Jughead can feel his stomach twisting with every word. “She’s told me everything that you’ve been working on. Your father wants a war? He’s getting one.” The tension in the air is thick, and Hiram laughs again. “You’ve already lost the trailer park tonight. The Whyte Wyrm is next, and if you don’t want casualties, you’ll convince your father.”

Hiram starts walking towards the hotel, and Jughead can feel the bile rising in his throat. “I gave you every chance to roll over, Jughead. This gang that you call your family would have been released within 10 years. Now their blood will be on your hands.”

He barely registers Hiram’s exit, his words ringing in his ears. He doesn’t even want to _look_ at Veronica, and luckily, he doesn’t have to. When he tears his eyes from the floor, she’s already gone.

***

He doesn’t show his face at the Whyte Wyrm. There’s no way that they haven’t heard about the eviction notices that have gone up on every single trailer in Sunnyside. There’s no way that they haven’t made the connection between them and the fact the Lodge Industries is still looking for land.

According to the notice, they have 14 days to vacate. Jughead suspects that if they got rid of the Wyrm, these notices would conveniently disappear.

So, he just sits on the couch and waits for his father to return.

***

“You need to learn to keep your mouth shut.” FP hadn’t returned for two nights, and Jughead had used the time turning over everything with Veronica in his head, over and over. Neither of the Jones men had been in the mindset for the conversation that was needed, but, much like every conversation between them, it descended into them spitting words at each other.

“I did what I had to do!”

“You invited the Northside into our business. Serpents are losing their dens because of that Lodge girl.”

“It’s not Veronicas fault!” He’s not sure why he’s still defending her. She’s had every opportunity to contact him, to explain her point of view, to help him make sense with what went down. Maybe it’s because he can’t stand the idea that it was his own foolishness, his own blindness, that started this.

“You think you’re the first Serpent who was tempted by a Northside girl?” FP has stepped down with his anger and is now trying to reason with his son. But Jughead is still too hurt, too scared of the consequences of his actions.

“What was I meant to do – roll over and let Lodge industries take the Wyrm?”

“We could’ve handled that.”

“You lost your chance to handle _anything_ when you shived a guy in the prison yard.” In one swift movement, FP has Jughead pinned against the wall of the trailer, arm on his throat.

“You, Jug… you will be the death of us.” He’s hissing the words now. “I told you not to trust a Lodge girl. I got out because I wanted to get out to save what _you_ destroyed. What you are still trying to destroy.”

FP releases Jughead and the two men stare each other down. Who knows what they would have said to each other, what they would have _done_ to each other, if there hadn’t been a knock at the trailer door at that moment.

***

“Thank you for agreeing to discuss this misunderstanding.” Hiram Lodge sits across from the Jones pair, and Jughead has to grip the couch with both hands to prevent himself from reaching over and connecting his fists with the man’s face.

When he’d opened the door to find the two Lodges – Hiram and Veronica, he’d barely known what to think. But then he discovered that in his absence, FP had been trying to work out what to do and had decided to invite the Devil (and apparently the Devils daughter) to their home. “Just one of the options, Jug.” FP had gripped his shoulder and forced him to sit.

Jughead can’t even bear to look at Veronica. Just the few seconds when she was stood at the door had been enough to send the emotions swirling around his brain.

“There’s no misunderstanding. Your girl went after my boy and now we’ve got people scared they’ll lose their home.”

“I’d like to keep what happened between our children out of this, Mr Jones.” Hiram smoothly interrupted, and Jughead realises his game. By inviting Veronica but not letting her become part of the narrative, Hiram thought he would keep Jughead distracted enough to not derail the conversation. “I heard about the eviction notices, and, though it had nothing to do with me, I’ve already spoken to Mayor McCoy.”

“You smarmy bas-“ FP pushes Jughead back just in time to stop him attacking the man. Like Hiram hadn’t already declared war on the Southside. As if Hiram hadn’t stated _to Jugheads face_ that this was a step in the plan.

“As a gesture of goodwill to the Southside community, I’d like to settle any back rent you or your neighbours owe the town.”

“What do you want in return this time?” Jughead steps in before his dad can answer, reminding everyone present that this game has been played before. That the first battle of this war was conceded by the Serpents in the Whyte Wyrm, just by showing up with a briefcase of cash.

“Ownership of the Wyrm.”

Nobody says anything for a moment, but Veronica and Hiram share a look. “Mr Jones, Jughead, you’re two smart men. I’m sure you need a chance to think through your options. Jughead has my number. I’ll wait to hear from you.”

FP stands to open the door for Hiram, grabs his pack of cigarettes from the side and heads out after him. Veronica stays, and Jughead turns to face her. He’s not sure what he’s looking for here – a sign that this is part of some bigger game? That what they had _mattered_? That Jughead wasn’t just a pawn?

Whatever it is, he doesn’t see it. “Jughead, it’s a good deal. You should convince your father to take it.”

“What happened, Veronica?” He hears the desperation in his voice, but if she hears it, she doesn’t acknowledge it.

“I told you before that I wasn’t involved with Lodge Industries, but that’s not true anymore. I’m taking a more active role, and I can tell you that you selling the Whyte Wyrm to my father is the best deal. Not just for you, or for the Serpents, but for the whole of Riverdale.” She sounds like a sound bite, designed to be played in every advert break on the radio. He can practically hear the patriotic music behind her.

“This isn’t you.” Reaching for her hand, he tries to ignore how she flinches.

“Or maybe you don’t know me, Jughead. Maybe I just needed reminding of where I’m from, of my priorities.” She raises her chin at him, the picture of coldness.

“Your priorities? Veronica, you spent all summer helping me get the Serpents out. And for what, so that you could take them from me?” She doesn’t say anything in response, and his gut twists. “Is this because of what I said the other night?”

“Forsythe, I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’ll still have the Serpents, and you’re welcome for that.” She stands up, folds her arms, eyes barely meeting his. It’s not an answer to his questions and she knows it.

“Are you pretending that you weren’t there, not even 3 nights ago, when your father declared war on us? Said there would be casualties?”

“You always did have a flair for the dramatics, Jughead. Look, like I said. It’s a good deal, and I don’t want this to get any worse for-“ She stops herself, whatever she was about to say lost. “Goodbye, Jughead.”

And then she’s gone, and his head is swimming.

***

“I’m not taking the deal.” FP refuses to look at him as he gives his decision. “Penny Peabody has figured out ways to delay the deal, and I don’t trust her as far as I can throw her, but we can’t lose the Whyte Wyrm. Not to Hiram. Not like this.” It’s a few days after their visit from the Lodges, and Jughead had successfully managed to avoid his father like the plague.

“Dad.”

“Penny doesn’t offer charity like this. I know you got her out, and she promised the loyalty of the Ghoulies, but she’ll hold it over our heads until we figure out this Hiram shit.”

“Dad.”

“I meant what I said, Jug. You’ll be the death of the Serpents, and not everyone will take it as lightly as I do. Not everyone will forgive you.” It’s then that Jughead sees the rucksack by his father’s feet – he recognises it as his own.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“You bet your ass you are. I already told your mom.” Jughead is glad he wasn’t around to hear that conversation, knowing his mother’s feelings towards FP are not exactly positive.

“I’m not abandoning the Serpents. I’m not leaving Veron-“ The words are partly out of his mouth before he can even register that’s where his mind was going. He swallows them, looks at his feet and wishes the ground would swallow him up. It still _hurts_ , what happened. He doesn’t understand it and he almost doesn’t want to ask. How she can pretend like those months they were together meant nothing. He knew Veronica could tear you down if she wanted to, he just didn’t ever think she would turn on him. Not again. Not after what they’d been through.

FP doesn’t care about his sons turmoil, it would seem, as he raises his voice to interrupt Jugheads thoughts. “How are you still not getting this through your skull? The Lodge girl played you. She betrayed you. You’re a fool if you think you could still be a Serpent after that.”

The two men turn to face each other, staring each other down. “I’m not going to Toledo.”

“You’re not staying here.” FP chucks a bag at him that he doesn’t want to catch. “You’re not welcome in the Serpents. You’re not welcome in this trailer. You’re not welcome in the Southside.”

Jughead doesn’t have much choice, it would seem. And so, he jumps on his bike and rides.

..........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Try not to hate me for this - we're only a third of the way through!
> 
> Fanvideo rec today is probably the most beautiful Jeronica video I've seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3wrL7LELyY


	11. Two Halves of the Same Whole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time Veronica Lodge hears the name “Jughead Jones” it’s through the door of her father’s office. She hears “serpent” being used to refer to a person at the same time. It’s not until months later that she sees Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third, and it’s not until she’s lived in Riverdale for long enough to change all her delivery addresses that she actually meets him.

The first time Veronica Lodge hears the name “Jughead Jones” it’s through the door of her father’s office. She hears “serpent” being used to refer to a person at the same time. It’s not until months later that she sees Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third, and it’s not until she’s lived in Riverdale for long enough to change all her delivery addresses that she actually meets him.

The first time she meets Betty Cooper, she realises that she’s exactly the kind of person she’d been missing in New York. The kind of person that makes you want to be a good person. They’d been thrown together by school administration, and Veronica will forever be thankful for it. With every conversation they had, she found herself letting go of the restrictions and the judgements that had been holding her back from her true self in New York.

The first time she meets Archie Andrews, she knows that he and Betty are going to end up together. End-game, she hears. There’s no way that you can grow up together, still be friends in high school (even though one of you is a jock and the other is a Nancy Drew type), and not give it a go at some point.

So, she makes a point to not come between them, but it very quickly becomes apparent that neither of them are aware of how they were 2 parts of the same whole. Veronica decides it’s a battle for another time.

“Who’s that guy?” She whispers to Betty in their History class, tilting her head towards the dark-haired boy with the crown beanie.

“That’s Jughead.” There’s a sadness to the blondes voice that her answer doesn’t quite explain, but it’s only when they’re at the Pembrooke later, away from their schoolmates prying eyes and Cheryl’s omnipresence (and the judgement that comes therewith), that she gets the story out of her. Hearing the name spat out by her father in anger and then seeing the boy who doesn’t talk generated many questions, and Veronica wasn’t one to let things drop.

“We used to be best friends. Me, Archie, and Juggie.” She catches Veronicas confused gaze and answers one of the questions. “No, Jughead isn’t the name on his birth certificate, but he’s never really explained the reason behind it. All I know is that as long as I’ve known him, he’s been Jughead.”

“I note how you say ‘used to be’.”

“Jugheads dad is in jail. Drug dealing, but multiple offences. And Juggie lives in the south side of town, and he got in with the wrong crowd.” Betty sighs, looking down at her mug of hot chocolate. “I kind of gave up on him.”

Veronica reaches out and takes her new best friends’ hand. “I’m sure you did what you had to do, but you know it’s not too late.”

“I don’t think Jughead would even want to talk.”

“We all make mistakes, Betty Cooper. Even you.”

***

The first time she realised her dad wasn’t just interested in fraudulent activities, but also was not horrified by the idea of murder, came when Poppa Poutine was found dead in a motel in Riverdale, shortly after they arrived. He’d been en route to an investment meeting with the Lodges, also bringing his son, which Veronica would have the delight of entertaining. Peter Poutine (he tried to keep the nicknames going through the line of succession, but it didn’t work so well) was not the best company. Veronica had shuddered as she remembered stray hands and tongues in throats. Funnily enough, it was the third time in so many weeks that she’d been encouraged to entertain the sons of investors or business partners.

“Mija, can we talk?” She was almost finished getting ready when there was a knock on her door.

“Of course, daddy. Are you ready for your big negotiation?” She looked at herself in the mirror, purposely not turning around. As childish as it was, she could have had a fun day getting to know Betty Cooper a bit better, or practising their cheers for the Vixens, and instead she had to paint a smile on her face.

“There’s been a change of plans. Poppa Poutine was found dead this morning.”

“What?” It’s then that she noticed that her father is holding out a copy of The Register. News tended to move fast around here – as one of the few towns that still relied on paper news, she supposed they had to. “Daddy, I’m so sorry.”

Her father didn’t look sorry. He didn’t look like a man who had lost a business partner. He looked like this was not news to him. “No sorrys, mija. It’s not unexpected for a man with lots of enemies like Poppa Poutine to have his time cut short. It’s just unfortunate that it happened in Riverdale.”

Hiram then turns around and leaves her room, and her stomach is turning.

***

She hadn’t intended to become a player in the Lodge Industries game, but if she didn’t act quickly, she was going to become one without her consent. And so, after spending an evening with Archie in Pops, she approached the question. Maybe this would finally force Betty to admit her feelings for him. Truly, a win win situation for everyone.

“Archie, you know my dad is… involved in multiple different businesses.” He’d nodded, shovelling food into his mouth. “He’s looking to find someone to help protect me. Nothing too intense, but I think he’d feel better knowing that I’ve got someone trustworthy by my side.” Another nod and a grunt to show he was listening. The poor boy was trying to bulk up for football, aiming to not only get the quarterback title but to keep it. “I’d quite like that person to be you. Nothing genuinely romantic between us, this isn’t that sort of proposition, but if everyone _thinks_ we’re together, it makes things simpler.”

“You want me to be your fake boyfriend?” Thank God he’d understood where she was going with this. “Why can’t you just get a _real_ boyfriend?”

“Archie, you saw how everything went down with Chuck.” Veronica clenches her fist in response to the cold anger that still laced through her veins. “You’re by far the most decent boy at this school. I don’t trust anyone else.” He’d looked up and smiled at her, then. And, as she instinctively reached over to wipe the syrup from his lip, she thought there were worse people to have as her fake boyfriend.

***

“What are you talking about, Veronica? I don’t… _like_ Archie.” Betty had scoffed, refusing to make eye contact as they sat across from one another at Pops.

“Come on, B.” Veronica took a long sip of her milkshake, turning over her words in her head. “You two have lived next to each other your entire lives. Archie told me about the time in the eighth grade when he proposed to you.”

“Why are you asking this, anyway?”

“Because…” Veronica sighs, trying to play this off as if she’s not about to start living a lie. “I like Archie. But I can’t even think about going there with him if it would hurt you.”

The always surprising Betty Cooper reaches out and takes her best friends hand. “V, I want you to be happy. Archie and I – There isn’t even an Archie and I.” The two girls smile at each other and Veronica tries to ignore the sinking feeling in her gut.

***

“Your dad was your pimp?” They’re sat under the bleachers and Veronica is trying to explain why their fake relationship needed to be discovered as soon as he agreed to it.

“I wouldn’t quite put it like that, Archiekins.” She laughs. “But, yes, my dad has seeped word of my eligibility to the demimonde of… molls that he associates with. So, their families have been bringing their youngest and brightest to court me, in the hope that that will form a kind of mutually beneficial relationship.”

“That’s messed up, Ronnie.”

“You may be right, but that’s just how things work when your dad does whatever it is my dad does.” She’s skirting around the subject, knowing that Archie is a good person and if he found out what she suspected really went on in Lodge Industries, he might not be so keen to be around her. She has no doubt that Archie will find his place within the Lodge family, has no doubt that he’ll discover what she thinks they’re up to, but if that can be delayed as much as possible she knows it will make everything easier. “Before we… start this. I just want to clarify something.” To jump into this without checking with both sides would be something the old Veronica did. “You and Betty. Has it ever been anything more than just friends with you two?”

“We’re not just friends, Ronnie. We’re best friends.” She smiles at him but says nothing more. “Look, I have never felt whatever it is I’m supposed to feel with Betty. Not with anyone.”

There’s a pregnant pause between them, and she finds herself realising how close their faces are to each other. He can’t seem to tear his eyes away from her lips, and she can’t tear her eyes away from his.

A moment passes. And then another. And then they’re kissing.

...........

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I love writing from Jugheads point of view, my heart belongs to Veronica. And I've always had a soft spot for Varchie, so. 
> 
> A Barchie/Jeronica video rec for you this week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDpqrkoRtok


	12. Riverdale’s Own Holden Caulfield

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe she hadn’t let go of the New York socialite in her, and she had cringed internally about the fact that she was using her best friend for Lodge business. As soon as he’d met Archie and had seemed to believe that their relationship was the real deal, she was practically shunned from her families engagements. As much as she hated that Hiram only saw her as a pawn in his game, she couldn’t help but want to make things better – if only to appease her mother. 
> 
> So, when her parents discovered that Jughead Jones was a loner who spent any time not in class in the library, they took it upon themselves to invest in the refurbishment of the library. But none of that meant anything if they weren’t able to use Veronica in their play.

“Betty, you should just talk to him.” Maybe she hadn’t let go of the New York socialite in her, and she had cringed internally about the fact that she was using her best friend for Lodge business. As soon as he’d met Archie and had seemed to believe that their relationship was the real deal, she was practically shunned from her families engagements. As much as she hated that Hiram only saw her as a pawn in his game, she couldn’t help but want to make things better – if only to appease her mother.

So, when her parents discovered that Jughead Jones was a loner who spent any time not in class in the library, they took it upon themselves to invest in the refurbishment of the library. But none of that meant anything if they weren’t able to use Veronica in their play.

More than anything, though, she knew that Betty did miss Jughead. And when Archie was being truthful with her, he admitted that he missed Jughead too. “Like… today.” Betty shrugs, but Veronica hadn’t been able to pretend to miss the way her eyes flicked up to where Jughead sat in the lunch hall.

It worked, though. Pretty soon Betty, Archie and Jughead were spending every lunch period together, while Veronica bitterly watched from the side-lines. She knew that Jughead was at least aware of her existence, but she assumed he held a less than positive opinion towards her, if Bettys awkward side stepping of the subject was anything to go by.

“What’s with Daddy and Jughead, anyway? What could Riverdale High’s very own Holden Caulfield possible have on him?” She asked her mother, when she came home after a long cheer practise.

“Jughead Jones is a Southside Serpent. They are a… gang, I suppose you would say. Most importantly, Jughead is the last Serpent.”

“What happened to the rest of them?” Veronica had heard rumours of a gang that engaged in crimes (ranging from destruction of property to drug dealing), and Betty had said that Jugheads father was in jail for that. But she didn’t mention anything about Jughead having a criminal past, nor did he seem like the type.

Hermione wouldn’t meet her daughter’s eyes, and that had been when Veronica knew that whatever had happened to them, it had the Lodge family written all across it. “Prison, mainly. They don’t seem to want to let Old Riverdale go, and they fell on hard times.”

“This doesn’t explain why Daddy hates Jughead.”

“While there’s a Serpent around, there’s a property in the Southside that will always belong to them. It’s an ancient law that no matter how hard your father tries, he can’t break. And I fear that Jughead won’t ever be willing to sell.” Hermione smiled, meeting Veronicas gaze and shrugged, before returning to her book. “It’s just very important to the project your father has spent years working on.” Since they had moved here, her parents referred to everything by code names and with vague terms – it was all she could be trusted with, apparently.

“I thought we moved to Riverdale because you both grew up here.”

“Nobody ever does anything for just one reason. Lodge Industries is just helping Riverdale become the place it was always meant to be.”

“By messing with people’s lives?”

She practically felt the atmosphere shift. Her mother closed her book, took her glasses off, and turned to face her daughter.

“Veronica, did you enjoy living in New York? Did you like living at the Dakota with a Central Park view? Did you like your personal shopping account at Barneys? How about our family dinners at Jean Georges?”

“Those were just things, Mom.” It was Veronicas turn to avoid looking at her mother, the twisting in her gut making her want to throw up. All her life, she’d been ignorant. She wanted to live the life of her so-called friends, of her peers. She didn’t stop for a second to think that there was a cost. Not a cost like someone else spending a lifetime behind bars.

“That was our life, Ronnie.” Hermione’s voice was like steel, and Veronica realised that she either gets with the programme and helps her parents, or she loses everything. “Provided to us by your father. I think it would be best if you helped us get that property. Do you understand?”

Shaken, she nodded. Luckily, she didn’t have to stay at the Pembrooke for much longer after that conversation, as she was saved by a text from her boyfriend. Finally, she had been invited to one of the Archie club gatherings.

***

Months later, and she knows it’s stupid. She knows that by spending one on one time with Jughead she’s just going to fall for him even more. But she’s fought it for so long. What started out as intrigue turned into a crush turned into something she has never felt before – something she has never let herself feel before. She should carry on fighting it because of her father and what he’ll do when he finds out, and yet her father is the exact reason that she found herself in this situation.

She didn’t want to feel guilty for what her family had put him through, but she did. She didn’t want to lash out at the first mention of her father that time at Pops, but she had. She didn’t want him to hate her, so she’d apologised. She didn’t mean to invite herself for the last film at the Drive-in, but she knew the anonymous buyer had been her father (because one else would be buying properties in the Southside), and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She didn’t want to turn up stag, but she hadn’t been able to form the words to invite Archie along.

She half wanted to set Jughead up with Betty, because then at least someone could protect him from the destruction her father was going to bring. But something about the way he looked at Veronica, like he knew everything about her – or at least he could know, stopped her from bringing it up to her blonde best friend.

And then, there they were. She’s sharing a secret about her relationship with her father that she hadn’t even wanted to admit to herself – that she’s pretty sure he doesn’t love her, like he just sees her as an asset of Lodge Industries. And he’s staring at her and she wants to tell him it all. From birth to now, every good thing and bad thing about her. They’d been interrupted by a phone call, otherwise…

Veronica shakes the thoughts out of her head. She doesn’t even know if Jughead is trustworthy enough to reveal anything about her life to, and yet she had done it. Just like her father is expecting her to use Jughead to further his plan, Jughead could be in exactly the same boat.

She knows that it’s stupid. She knows that inviting him to Pops (as what? Friends?) is foolish. She knows that he might not feel _anything_ towards her (and yet, she can’t get his stare out of her mind). She repeats in her head that maybe it’s a good thing that he doesn’t show as the clock approaches 8.

But she’s Veronica Lodge, and Veronica Lodge does not get stood up. So, she looks up where she needs to go, and goes.

***

She admits that her feelings for him are real, and valid, and too strong to pretend otherwise, about 3 weeks after the destruction of the Wyrm – when she walked in to find Jughead Jones, someone who was at the very least her friend, sat on the floor, tear stains on his cheeks and broken pieces of furniture around him. If she’s honest with herself (and she finds she rarely can be, these days), it was then that the feelings cemented themselves in her. But her brain took a while to catch up.

When her dad and mom aren’t talking, and the atmosphere in the Pembrooke sets her teeth on edge, and instead of turning to her blonde best friend or her redheaded fake boyfriend, the person she goes to text is Jughead.

**Can you get to Pops? If there’s anything I know about broken parent relationships, it’s that there’s few things a milkshake won’t fix. – J x**

And the sheer relief that she feels when she gets dropped off at Pops and she sees him in their usual booth and it’s like the rest of the world doesn’t matter.

And for the very first time in her life she allows her heart to run off. She follows her heart when it tells her to go back to Jugheads trailer, even getting onto his motorcycle without a second thought. When they’re inside the trailer she can’t help but notice his awkward glance around, as if she cares about the state of it, as if any of that matters. So, she opens her mouth and lets the words spill out.

..........


	13. A Little Harder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She knows she’s playing with fire, that texting Jughead while Betty and Archie are sat right next to them is dangerous. But when Jughead looks down at his phone and she sees a flicker of a reaction across his face, she can’t help herself.

**Can’t stop thinking about last night. – V x**

She knows she’s playing with fire, that texting Jughead while Betty and Archie are sat right next to them is dangerous. But when Jughead looks down at his phone and she sees a flicker of a reaction across his face, she can’t help herself.

**Can’t stop thinking of your head between my thighs. – V x**

Another flicker.

**Your tongue on my clit. – V x**

Archie must’ve said something funny as Betty is giggling, so Veronica laughs along, playing the part of the present girlfriend.

**My fingers digging into your skull. – V x**

Jughead looks up, shoots her a warning look. And she bites her lip in response.

**Can’t stop thinking about how it feels when you’re on top of me. – V x**

She’s not sure what the end game is here – does she hope that they’ll skip Pops tonight and he’ll just demand she meets him at the trailer?

**How it feels when you’re fucking me. – V x**

Whatever she was hoping for, it wasn’t him leaping up dramatically and storming out of the lunch hall. She watches him leave, a sinking feeling in her gut.

“Don’t worry about it, Ronnie. That’s just Jughead.” Archie puts his hand on her back reassuringly. She’s about to write the entire lunch period off as a failed experiment when she _finally_ gets a response.

**There’s a closet under the staircase to English. Come find me. – J x**

Her heart leaps. To be quite honest she’s not even sure what excuses she makes to Betty and Archie in her haste to follow Jughead, but she doubts they’d mind.

“Jughead?” She hisses outside the door. Immediately the door opens, and a hand reaches out to pull her in. His lips are on hers before her eyes can even adjust to the inside of the closet, one hand on her cheek and the other pulling her close by her waist.

“You can’t just _say_ stuff like that.” His voice breaks a little, and it is intoxicating. “Please.” He grabs her thigh and grinds against her. “I need you.” He pleads, and she knows she’s already ready for him. She’s _always_ ready for him. _He_ finds that out himself as his hand runs up her thighs to their apex and he groans.

She’s completely spiralling, the fact that she can hear their peers walking the halls on the other side of the door doing nothing to control her arousal. “Jug, please…” She whines, and he covers the sound with his lips. She closes her eyes, let’s her head rest against the wall, hands grappling between them to unbuckle belts, push aside underwear and guide him inside her.

She’s had sex before Jughead. She’s had a _lot_ of sex before Jughead. Some of it was bad, some of it awkward, some of it was even good. Sometimes she had an orgasm during sex but sometimes she had to demand it beforehand. With Jughead, though, it’s something else. She can never tell where her body ends and his begins. She grips his shoulders, holds him as close as she possibly can and yet it never feels quite close enough. She feels like everything she knew before him, everything that held her together, it all tears apart under his touch, and she’s reborn every time. His groans mirror her own, his pleasure equal to hers.

They know they can’t be as vocal as they’re allowed to be in the trailer, so they’re just gasping into each other’s mouths – not quite kissing, but something just as intimate.

The speed of his thrusts increase, and her hands reach up to tear off his beanie, running her fingers through his dark hair. He’s close, and so is she, and they fall into orgasm together.

***

“Archie, I have to tell you something.” Yet again, they were in Pops. Yet again, Archie was eating more than his fair share of their portion of fries. “I like someone. And they like me back.”

“Who?”

“It’s unimportant, because we can’t go public.” It would’ve been easy to continue this lie, to act like nothing had changed. But if she’s lying to everyone else that she cares about, she doesn’t want to lie to Archie. “It’s not exactly someone my dad would approve of. Look, I completely understand if you want to break things off-“

“I don’t think your dad would take that well.” They didn’t speak about the jobs that Archie was doing for her family. Every time she brought it up Archie shrugged, made out like it was no big deal, that it was worth it for the things he was getting in return.

“Archie.” She lets her gratitude flood the word, unsure what she did in a past life to deserve a friend like this. “Thank you.”

“What’s he like?”

Veronica couldn’t help but let a smile form on her lips, memories of the evenings they’d already spent together playing in her mind. The way his jaw clenched when she had won an argument and he didn’t want to admit it, his stormy gaze when she undressed in front of him, the smile he got on his face when they lay in bed after.

“You know what, Archiekins, I think I’m going to keep it all to myself.”

***

When she was in New York and she was dating a guy, and she knew that they were about to ghost her or that they were about to start playing some other juvenile game, she would host a party and would dance with someone who was hotter than the guy that she was currently interested in. By the end of the night she’d either end up with a new beau, or her currently boy would be so filled with jealousy they’d start making an effort again. No matter what, she ended up getting laid.

She’d always found that level of power thrilling.

When she’d turned the corner at school and caught Jughead deep in conversation with Betty, her heart stopped. And then for him to conveniently disappear for the rest of the day after being invited to Cheryl’s party, well, she assumed this was his way of starting to ghost her.

And she panicked.

Veronica Lodge had never panicked before, never cared enough about a guy to do more than play games, but this was pure panic. It gripped her throat, made it difficult to breathe. When he shrugged her off on the Friday, she felt something pushing on her chest.

“V, what’s going on? You’ve been distracted all day.” Betty leaned over to where Veronica was curling her hair and sympathetically rubbed her knee. Betty looked beautiful, of course she did, and her big blue eyes made it impossible to straight out lie to her right now.

“Just some boy stuff.” Veronica sighs, gives her hair a final run through and stands up. She knows she looks good, but there’s no point in dressing up for a guy if he doesn’t want you. “I’m beginning to think that the guy I like doesn’t like me back.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Archie adores you.” Betty is oblivious to her white lie and Veronica smiles appreciatively. She knows Archie’s feelings towards her aren’t strictly platonic, and she knows that she can’t even think about that right now. They went into things with all cards on the table, and he knows she’s seeing someone else. But sometimes Veronica catches her fake boyfriend staring at her, and her gut twists. The thought of hurting one of her closest friends like that doesn’t bear thinking about. “I think Jughead and Archie planned it – they’ve arrived.”

The panic still sits on her ribcage.

***

Kissing Archie was like kissing your best friend. It wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it wasn’t going to break any records. There were no fireworks. Even that first time, when there hadn’t been another boy on Veronicas mind, she had been able to let her mind wander, barely even focused on the job at hand.

Kissing Archie when he’s drunk is just unpleasant, but necessary. To be honest, she’d completely ignored his initial reaction to her outfit because she was staring at Jughead. When she’d seen Jugheads eyes run down her body, his eyes darken, that twitch in his jaw… She’d almost called her whole plan off. But then he blinked and snapped out of it, instead choosing to look anywhere but her.

A few hours later, she knew her plan was working. She could feel his gaze on her back. And so, she ground down on Archie a little harder, encouraged his wandering hands a little more, laughed a little louder.

Usually this would have been the moment where the guy snapped, where he would beg for another chance to be her man, and they would’ve left. But, when she next looked up, Jughead was gone, and suddenly her plan seemed completely ridiculous. And Archie seemed… completely out of it.

“Come on, Archiekins, let’s get you a glass of water.”

“You’re my saviour, Ronnie.” He’d exclaimed as he downed the glass.

“I think you’ll find that you’re mine. And whatever is going on with my dad, and with everything… I’m glad we found each other.” He’s drunk, so what was meant to be a friendly hug ended up far more handsy. And of course, that’s when Jughead walks back in and it all blows up in her face.

..........


End file.
